The Metal of a Man
by Lady Henrietta
Summary: AU after "Revelations": Out of the ashes of Earth, the dangers of rebellion, and the tyrany of a new leader, can Adama and Roslin preserve humanity, despite knowing whom the final Cylon is? A/R
1. Bleak

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

The Metal of a Man

Chapter 1: Bleak

President Laura Roslin looked down at the black, radioactive dirt at her feet. Then she glanced over at the others that had come down to the surface with her. Cylons and humans alike shared bewildered, disappointed expressions. From their scans as they walked along the shoreline, it was evident that no one had set foot on the planet in roughly two hundred years. She walked over to Kara Thrace, who sat on what at first glance could have been a rock formation, but on closer inspection was the contorted, melted remnant of a building.

The blonde woman glanced over at Laura. "Madame President, this isn't what I saw. I don't know what happened."

Laura placed a hand on her shoulder. "Neither do I. Is there anything vaguely familiar about any of it?"

Kara shook her head, her eyes focusing on her military-issue boots. "I don't know what went wrong."

Sitting down next to her, Laura folded her hands in her lap. "I thought all five of the supposed Final Five Cylons were supposed to lead us here."

"Maybe we've all been tricked and this is what we deserve for it," Kara grumbled. Seeing that further conversation was not going to help, Laura stood and looked for Bill.

Admiral Bill Adama glared at the landscape as if someone to blame for the mess could materialize in front of him at any second. Black, lifeless dirt crunched under his boots. The sky was gray. The mangled ruins around him were gray. The color seemed to permeate the essence of the scenery, as if the soul had departed and all that was left was the empty corpse. They had left death only to return to it under the guise of hope.

Bill looked around to make a quick mental note of where everyone was. The only one he did not need to see was Tigh. The betrayal of his friend had cut him deeply and he did not need to see it to know that the colonel stood a few yards behind him over to his left. Everyone from his son to Baltar seemed to have the same gray cloud over them that he felt.

Then he noticed Laura walking toward him and saw color again. Even though she wore the same dull colored clothing that he did, to him she appeared in color. When she reached him he took her hands in his like she was his lifeline. "Not what we expected, is it?"

She shook her head. "It's not what Kara remembers. What are we going to tell the fleet?"

"I don't know. We need more recon. With any luck, the whole planet might not be this bad," Bill remarked. He removed a vial of the contaminated dirt from his pocket. "Jack gave me three vials. He wanted samples. Too bad the dirt's all the same from what I can see. The other two vials are empty."

As she looked at the mangled ruins, the wheels in her head began to turn. _These are old ruins, and what do you need if you have ruins and you're looking for proof of civilization?_ "There's got to be something salvageable here. Do we have any archaeologists in the fleet?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, but I think I see where you're going with this. We'll check on it when we get back.

She looked up at the cloudy sky, trying to spot the glowing blob of the sun. Suddenly she saw a flash of light that seemed to be all around her. Blinking, she quickly looked back to Bill. "Did you see that?"

He raised an eyebrow. "See what?"

"The flash," she stated, turning her head to see what could have caused it.

"I didn't see anything," he answered.

"It just doesn't make…" she trailed off and stopped walking as a feeling of nausea took hold of her insides. Resting a hand on a gnarled archway, she leaned over and threw up black liquid.

"Laura!" Bill exclaimed, placing a hand on her shoulder. She turned back to him and he handed her the water canteen.

She took a drink to rinse her mouth out. He bent down to scoop up some of the black liquid in one of the empty vials. "We might want to have Cottle analyze this to make sure you're not bleeding internally."

"Figures that we finally land on Earth and the planet is trying to kill me," she remarked dryly as she put the cap back on the canteen. As she took a few steps around the area, her surroundings started to spin. The canteen fell from her hand.

Then the world went black.


	2. Impossible

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 2: Impossible

Bill scooped Laura up into his arms, not bothering to mask the shock on his face. Lee had seen her fall and dashed over to the scene. "Dad, what happened?"

Adama did not take his eyes from her. "I don't know. She threw up and passed out. I'm going to get her back to _Galactica_. I should never have brought her down here."

Lee walked with him as they headed back to a Raptor. "You know she would've argued if you hadn't."

"Doesn't make it any easier," the older man muttered as he felt the worry in the pit of his stomach. With Laura still unconscious in his arms, he glanced at the bench seat for a way to secure her, planning to fly back himself.

"Dad, why don't I fly you back? I know I'm not in the military anymore, but it would be faster than tracking down one of the others and that way you can sit with her in case she wakes up," Lee suggested.

Bill gave his son a half-smile. "Thank you."

He settled into the bench seat, keeping Laura on his lap. _Please stay with me_, he thought.

After the Raptor broke through the upper atmosphere, her eyelids fluttered open. "Bill. What's going on?" she asked.

"I'm glad you're awake," he told her with a relieved grin, the heavy feeling in the pit of his stomach beginning to dissipate.

She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to assess if she had been hurt. When she opened them again, she noticed the concern floating in his eyes. "I don't think anything's broken. What am I doing here, in your lap of all places, if nothing's broken? And who's flying?"

Her tenacity caused him to smile. With a few adjustments, she was sitting next to him. "You got sick and passed out. Lee noticed and offered to fly us back."

"So in other words no one else knows we've left the landing site?" she probed.

A sheepish expression appeared on his face. "I… was more concerned with getting you back to _Galactica_."

Her right hand found his left as she spoke. "As nice as it is to know where I stand with you, we can't let personal feelings let us forget necessary protocol. Saul is going to give you hell for-"

She stopped herself, having forgotten the last several hours for a moment. The normalcy of Saul teasing Bill had replaced the reality in her mind of him being a Cylon. "I'm sorry, Bill. I didn't mean to."

He pulled her into a hug. "Too much has happened the last few days to keep track. I'm just glad you're safe and off of that basestar."

"Me too. What are we going to tell them when we dock?" she mentioned.

"That we need to investigate further," he reminded.

Laura relaxed into his embrace. "In that case, why don't you have Lee inform someone down there of where we are so they don't waste their time on a search party for us?"

Bill smirked. "Yes, Madame President. Right away, Madame President."

She rolled her eyes at his antics. "Facetious."

"And we have our word of the day," he teased. Then he called to his son. "Lee, send a transmission to Helo and tell them that the president and myself are returning to _Galactica_."

"Yes, sir," Lee called back.

The Raptor docked a short while later. Extracting herself from him, she insisted that she would stand on her own. "I feel better, Bill. I still have an image to present to the public. How would it look for the admiral to be carrying the president around? Other people don't need to know about my health."

"Either that, or they'd suspect me of being a caveman and carrying you off to my quarters," he teased.

She chuckled lightly. "As amusing as that plan would be, I still have my dignity somewhere."

He smiled and offered her his arm. Lee reached for the door switch. "You two ready?" They both nodded and he opened the door.

The small crowd looked eagerly at their leaders for word of Earth, beginning to chatter off questions. Laura raised one of her hands. "I know you all want to know about Earth. I can tell you that no one else is going down until more reconnaissance has been gathered. Now if you will excuse us, the admiral and I need to discuss further exploration of the planet."

Adama and Roslin quickly left the crowd, making their way to Life Station. Dr. Cottle looked up with a start from his paperwork as they entered. "What's wrong now?"

"She got sick and passed out on the planet," Bill explained. Then he gave Cottle the samples of the dirt and the black liquid.

"I feel better though," she chimed in.

The doctor turned the dirt sample over in the vial. "This stuff looks cooked. What was it like down there?"

Adama looked around, then whispered, "Radioactive. Looked like it was nuked."

"That's a real shame. I was hoping we could eat something besides algae soon," Cottle stated.

"We all were. Instead we found something worse than New Caprica," Laura complained quietly.

Cottle glanced at the vials again, then shook his head, glaring at the two of them. "What were you thinking, bringing her down there? Who knows what sort of disease she might've picked up, with her immune system already being compromised by-"

"I'm aware of that, Doctor," Bill mentioned.

Laura cleared her throat. "I'm still here, by the way. And I can speak for myself. I told you, I feel better."

"You let me be the judge of that," Cottle grumbled. Then he called a nurse over. "I want a blood sample from both of you to check for radiation poisoning."

The nurse took the blood while Cottle placed the vials into equipment to have them analyzed. When he had taken the vials of blood from the nurse when she had finished, he looked at Laura. "I want you to get some X-rays. We'll make sure there's nothing else wrong with you."

She nodded. "That's fine."

After the X-rays, Bill and Laura waited in Cottle's office. "I'm sure I didn't break anything when I fell. Nothing hurts."

"How's your back?" Bill probed.

"Fine, it's really…" then she realized it: nothing hurt. She looked him straight in the eyes. "Bill, I don't hurt anywhere. I haven't felt like this in weeks, maybe months."

He studied her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Do you think you could've been exposed to something?"

She shook her head. At that moment, Cottle entered his office. "You two had better see this."

They stood, following him into the X-ray viewing room. Laura gasped. "It's not possible."

"No. I can't figure it out. I'm hoping your blood test will tell me more. Somehow, you're cancer-free again," Cottle informed her.

"That would explain why I feel better," she stated.

Cottle shook his head. "I need to run some tests. We need to determine if something you got into down there is fooling the X-ray machine, or even masking your symptoms. I want you here for the next couple of hours for observations."

"I can accept that," she responded. Then she looked over at Bill. "I think you should go to CIC and scan for more information on that planet."

He held one of her hands in his. "I want to know what's going on with you."

She glanced down at their hands and squeezed his. Then she faced him with a business-like expression. "Admiral, we have a situation that has little to do with me and a lot to do with the survival of several thousand people. You are going to walk out of Life Station and at the very least set out a plan for recon missions."

Sighing, he nodded. "I'll do my best, Madame President."

As Bill left the room, Cottle faced Laura. "You're either the luckiest woman in the universe, or you've been put here just to drive me crazy with mysteries I can't solve."

Laura smirked. "Maybe it's a little of both."

(My thanks to McGonagallFan for reviewing :D)


	3. Nonnegotiable

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 3: Non-negotiable

Laura paced as she waited for Cottle to release her. "That's not going to get your results processed any faster," he reminded.

"Then give me something to do," she retorted.

The doctor smirked. "You are the most impatient patient I've ever had."

Sighing, she sat down as he disappeared into the side room with the testing equipment. _I hope Bill's having better luck in CIC_, she thought to herself. At last Cottle came back to her, still looking perplexed. "Your test results indicate that the cancer is just gone."

Laura crossed her arms as he showed her the results. "What about the vial?"

Cottle sighed as he faced her. "That's the most puzzling part of it all. It's mostly cancer cells. It doesn't make any sense how all the cancer cells in your body could've migrated like that. It's like your body decided to purge itself of the cancer."

"Do you think there's anything I should keep an eye on?" she inquired.

He shrugged. "Other than the fact that this should be a medical impossibility, at this point I can't even tell you if the results will last any length of time. I might as well release you though. I'm still waiting on the results on your blood test, but I should have that by some time tomorrow. "If you feel any different than you do right now, get back here immediately." She nodded and left for CIC.

The admiral snorted at the read-out of the latest planetary scans: it was still a radioactive mess. Why had it all come to this? Was humanity just doomed? Bill's gaze left the disheartening viewscreen as he leaned on the console. Then his ears picked up a pair of boots making their way down the ladder, over to him. Neither had changed their clothes since their trip to Earth.

He looked up to find Laura as she lightly touched his forearm. "Anything?"

"I wish. It's uninhabitable," he told her quietly.

Her eyes skimmed the reports. "I see. I know they'll want a press conference before the day is out. I just don't know what to tell them."

As his eyes met hers, the planet was temporarily forgotten. "How are you? Did Cottle find anything else?"

She leaned closer to him, whispering "No. The test results revealed everything as clear. Somehow it's just gone."

"The vial?" he asked.

Her next response caused his brow to furrow. "Mostly cancer cells."

"And he just release you? You didn't sneak out?" Bill questioned.

She smirked. "He only told me to come back if I feel any different."

Adama returned to examining data while Roslin studied the viewscreen. An hour later he received a phone call. "It's from _Colonial One_," Dee informed him.

The admiral reached for the phone. "Adama."

"Dad, it's Lee. How's the president?" his son asked.

Adama looked over his shoulder at her. "She's fine. I'm sorry we forgot to call you sooner."

"Good, I'm glad she's alright," there was a pause on Lee's end of the line. "The Quorum wants to talk with her to discuss the situation of Earth."

The admiral sighed, looking toward the president. "The Quorum wants to talk to you, today by the impression Lee's giving me."

She crossed her arms in front of her, staring down at nothing in particular as she mentally ran through her options. After taking a moment's pause, she turned back to Adama. "Then tell him I'm on my way."

He eyed her with concern. "Are you sure that's what you want to do?"

Matching his stare, she squared her shoulders. "Bill, I'm their president. It's what I have to do."

Adama spoke to Lee again. "She'll be there, but I'm coming too."

As he hung up, she watched him, raising an eyebrow. "What?"

"You don't need to come. I will say what needs to be said and one way or another, I'm the one they'll be most upset with. You don't need to be part of that," she expressed.

He folded his hands together, looking back at her calmly. "Last time I checked, it took more than just a president to run a fleet. Whatever comes of this, I'm their leader too, and that means I'm partly responsible for this."

She sighed, knowing that she was not going to dissuade him. "Let's go."

He sat across from her in the Raptor, almost seeing the wheels turn in her mind as she glanced out of the window quietly. "You're planning something."

She blinked, as if he had awakened her from a dream. "I might have an idea that could buy us a little time. Do you remember when I suggested that we have some archaeologists go down to the planet? If we go ahead with that, they might help us figure out what happened, and more importantly, if there were survivors that somehow left the planet."

"And found a new home," Bill finished. "What if the archaeologists don't find anything?"

Laura sighed heavily. "Then we come up with a new plan."

"We'll be lying to them again," he reminded dryly.

"Yes, well, it seems that we're back to survival in this case," she responded as the Raptor docked.

The president walked into the boardroom flanked by the admiral and Lee. The Quorum members sat around the table, as expected. But ten press members flashing cameras were also present. Adama turned his head toward his son. "You didn't say the press was here."

"They showed up right before you did," Lee mentioned.

The first questions came from the press. "Madame President, is it true that Earth is uninhabitable?"

"Ma'am, why did the Pythia prophecy lead us to a waste land?"

"Madame President, was this all part of a trap by the Cylons?"

"What will we do with the Cylons that are supposedly our allies?"

"Where the hell are we supposed to live now?"

"Enough!" the voice came from Vice President Tom Zarek. "I'm sure no one here is happy with the current situation, but since our president was kind enough to grace us with her presence, let's hear what she has to say."

The president took a deep breath. "What I have to say, I don't want to repeat, so please don't interrupt me. It is our greatest regret that Earth is not what we had hoped it to be, what we were convinced by the Pythia prophecies that it would be. However, we are not giving up. There have to have been survivors. They have to have gone somewhere. What I recommend is that we assemble a group of archaeologists and send them to the surface to investigate. As for the Cylons, they are giving us their cooperation and for now I intend to maintain the alliance. That is all."

Ignoring the murmur from the press as well as the Quorum, she disappeared behind the curtained area, followed by Adama and then Zarek. Lee stayed behind to find out which of the Quorum members had job lists from their constituents. Zarek walked over to Roslin, ignoring Adama.

"You know you're politically frakked right now. They aren't going to find anything except fried dirt," Zarek spat.

"Maybe, but at least we've bought ourselves some time," she mentioned.

He rolled his eyes. "What makes you think that they'll still follow you? Do you really think they'll trust you again, especially when those archaeologists come up empty-handed?"

A wry smirk appeared on her face. "Have a little faith, Tom."

"Faith? You want to talk to me about faith? You mean chamalla. Or have you found a stash of New Caprican weed recently?" Zarek sneered.

Laura watched him calmly. "If you want to say something to me, just say it."

"Your loony, drugged out visions led us a nuclear wasteland. You sure as hell shouldn't be in charge anymore." He glanced toward the curtain. "They're blind and deaf if they can't see the dictator you've become. You think your word is law, that you can get away with something like this. I don't give a frak what you say. You, Laura Roslin, are finished as president."

"Watch it," Adama growled, grabbing him sharply by the upper arm. "That sounded suspiciously like a threat. Vice president or not, I can still airlock your ass."

Zarek looked between Roslin and Adama. "I should've known this would come out. On top of drugs you can add sex scandal to this little-"

Adama's grip tightened. "Why you two-bit, sorry excuse for a-"

"Gentlemen! I know this hasn't been the ideal day for anyone, but you two duking it out over me, for whatever reason, is not going to solve anything," Laura scolded.

The admiral released the vice president. "Excuse me," Zarek spat, leaving the room.

Bill walked over to Laura. "He's dangerous. I've always said you need to keep an eye on him. I'm not leaving you alone with him. For all we know, he's planning an assassination."

She sank down into a chair, rubbing her neck with one hand. "Him and how many others? Much as I hate to admit it, he's got a point. If we don't find something in the next few days…"

"What happened to your earlier optimism?" Bill inquired, sitting in the chair next to her.

"It got left behind in the Raptor when I walked out and got a dose of reality," she said, fiddling with her left sleeve.

He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Let's go home. We haven't even had time to change."

She stood. "Okay."

(My thanks to carolann, McGonagallFan, Mamabella, and WonderfallsonDaisies for reviewing :D)


	4. Healing the wounds

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 4: Healing the wounds

Once back at the admiral's quarters, they changed and took turns showering. As Laura seated herself on the couch, Bill walked over to the hatch. "I've still got my shift to finish."

She stood, her shoes over by the door. "Bill…"

"I'm a soldier who's got a job to finish. I'll see you in a few hours," he stated, leaving her to stare after him.

Sighing, she walked over to his desk. "I hope there's a way to get through this," she said aloud as she sank into the desk chair, placing her head in her hands.

After a while, she turned back to the desk. The Pythia prophecy sat off to the right side, mocking her. "A lot of good you turned out to be," she said sarcastically.

Then she picked up the book. With a flick of her wrist, it landed in the trash can next to the desk. She pulled open one of the drawers, finding a blank piece of paper and a pencil. She smirked, noticing that it was only half of a pencil, the other half being broken at some point. She began making a numbered list down the paper. _There has to be something we're missing. We need to look at all of our options before things get any worse_.

Move on and look for a new planet

Use Earth as a salvage yard and then look for a new planet

See what the Cylons want to do, or not

Find a new planet and don't tell the Cylons where we've gone

Somehow trick Zarek into stepping inside an airlock and accidentally pushing the wrong button

She giggled at the last one, but she was still no closer to an answer. Later she ordered up two plates of noodles from the mess hall. When the admiral returned, he stalked over to a bottle of Ambrosia and poured himself a glass. Laura looked up from the desk. "How did your shift go?"

He spoke, looking at the wall instead of her. "I had to send three people out of CIC because they were crying. How am I supposed to run this ship if my crew can't hold it together while they're on duty?"

"I hope you're not planning on finishing off that bottle this time. You'll hate yourself in the morning," she scolded.

With a quick nod back, he drained the glass and slammed it down on the counter. "I don't remember asking you to keep an eye on my drinking habits."

She watched him pour himself another glass. "Alcohol fraks with your head."

"And chamalla doesn't?" he countered.

_I guess it's a night for low blows_, she thought. "Stop this."

"You don't have the right to tell me what I can and can't drink. Besides, this one's for Saul," Bill retorted.

She sat on the couch. "What happened with Saul?"

He took a gulp of the drink, letting it burn on its way down before speaking again. "My best friend is a Cylon, but I still need my XO. So I've got an XO I'll never be able to trust again."

"Have you had a talk with him since you found out?" she probed.

His grip around the glass tightened. "That's none of your damn business. It's my problem…" he trailed off, spotting the Pythia prophecy in his trash can. "What's up with that?"

She stood, crossing her arms in front of her as she walked toward him. "That, sir, is none of your business."

Looking away from her, he drained the last of the liquor from his glass. "I'm too tired for this. Let's just go to bed."

"You're not even going to eat anything? I did order up a tray. It's a form of noodles," she mentioned.

He stormed off toward the bathroom. She grabbed her plate and ate while listening to him grumble as he headed to bed. Later after she had dressed in her pajamas, she spotted him sleeping in his rack and realized something. _We haven't discussed sleeping arrangements yet. I suppose I'll take the couch tonight_, she resolved. Finding blankets, she stretched herself out on the couch and fell asleep.

_His arms had been fused with metal, though they were still shaped like his hands. He felt cold all over, as though he was walking through a sheet of ice. In CIC no one seemed to notice the difference. In fact, they not only did not notice, they had metallic limbs as well. He sucked in a breath when he saw Dee's face transform into the Cylon Centurion head with the red bar eye slit. Then he caught his reflection in the console: his head was a Cylon's head_.

Bill woke, bolting out of bed, making enough noise to wake Laura on the couch as he bumped into a chair. She groaned as sat up on the couch, watching as he dashed into the bathroom. He flicked on the light switch and breathed a sigh of relief: the face in the mirror was his own.

Laura's image entered the mirror. Even with the cracks in it, he could tell that she had crossed her arms in front of her. "Mind telling me what that was all about?"

Bill faced her, his good hand lingering on the bathroom counter. "Nightmare."

"Though I shouldn't be surprised, considering the alcohol you've consumed, I still have to ask. What sort of nightmare would drag you out of bed?" she probed.

He sighed heavily, running his good hand through his sleep-mussed hair. "I should warn you that it's going to sound stupid. I dreamed all of the humans' bodies were fusing with metal. We were all becoming Cylon centurions. Then I saw my reflection in CIC and I had a Cylon head."

She rested a hand on his chest. "It wasn't real. Have a glass water and go back to bed."

He stepped away from her, turning his back. "I can't. With everything that's happened, I've got too much on my mind. I'll just have more nightmares," he paused, glaring at the mess he had made of the mirror earlier. "This whole frakking thing is a nightmare, from the Cylons to that frakking planet we've called Earth!"

She touched his left shoulder. "Bill, listen-"

"No! Dammit, I don't know how to deal with all of this," he fumed. Then he glared at her. "How can you be so calm, seeing the disaster we've led our people to?"

Placing her hands on her hips, she retaliated. "Do you honestly think I don't feel anything? You have no idea how bad I feel about this – none at all! I was supposed to be their prophet, and I've led them to who-knows-what-kind of contaminated waste trap! I feel horrible about this on a level you can't possibly understand!"

Realizing that she had been yelling, she let her hands drop to her sides and took a deep breath. "The difference is that when I walk through that door," she pointed to his hatch, "I leave the mess and the stress outside. It's a sanctuary in here, a home. It should be one to you as well."

Bill reached for one of her hands. "I see your point. The problem is that I can't get my mind off things."

"Then you need some sort of distraction," she mentioned with a smirk, her free hand finger-walking up his tanks.

He let a half-smile slip out. "I don't suppose you've got any of that New Caprican weed on y-"

He had not seen it coming as she grabbed his tanks and interrupted him with a kiss. As her lips moved over his, he realized that it was far more serious than their first kiss had been. Instead of a chaste peck, she tugged at his lips, eliciting a small groan from him.

She moved back, smiling at the shell-shocked expression on his face. "Was that a good enough distraction?"

Unable to articulate anything close to words, he pulled her to him and kissed her deeply. His hands roamed her back, slipping under her shirt. She yanked his tanks up over his head with a quick jerk. When his lips moved to her neck and collarbone, she let the 'hum' sound slip out. While his hands strayed farther up, hers slipped farther down. Neither paid any attention when her headscarf fell off. By the time they reached his rack, their clothes were no longer in the way. His lips returned to hers as he dragged both of them onto the rack, ignoring the mess of the covers. Skin against skin, she arched against him as their tongues battled. Unlike their earlier argument, this sort of battle was one neither would mind repeating. Her last coherent thought before she gave herself to the moment was _perhaps we don't need to have that talk about sleeping arrangements after all_.

(My thanks to McGonagallFan and carolann for reviewing :D)


	5. A new vision

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 5: A new vision

Bill woke as his alarm buzzed, feeling strangely warm despite the blankets being by his feet. It took him two seconds to recall what the weight on his chest was. Laura opened her eyes, giving him a sleepy smile. "Morning."

"Morning. Sorry the rack's not bigger. I'm surprised we fell asleep like this," he told as he smiled back.

She chuckled. "We weren't exactly concerned with the location last night."

He leaned in to kiss her gently. "As much as I'd rather stay like this, both of us have jobs to get to."

Sighing, she sat up and moved to the foot of the bed. "Bummer."

What started as a snort from him soon evolved to a full laugh. "'Bummer?' Where did you pick that up. I haven't heard that one in years."

She giggled. "I don't know. It was just the word that came to mind."

They showered separately and then ordered up coffee. When the coffee arrived, he joined her on the couch. "We've got a lot of work cut out for us," he remarked, handing her a cup.

She nodded, taking a contemplative sit. When the cup was half gone, she spoke. "Why don't I join you in CIC for a while. Maybe we can come up with something together."

He set his cup down on the coffee table. "I hope."

As they entered CIC, she nodded politely to everyone, including Tigh. "Madame President."

She smiled. "Colonel." Bill only nodded to him, looking over the scans of the planet.

"Since an electrical signal from Kara's Viper got us this far, why don't we scanning for more signals?" the president suggested.

The admiral's eyes widened as he faced her. "Why didn't I think of that yesterday?"

"Neither of us were in the mood," she reminded.

He turned back to his crew. "You heard her. Let's scan for any electrical signals and see what comes up."

After two hours, the only signal registering was the first one. "I'm going to see if Kara's reached that signal yet. Gaeta, get me the wireless."

The dark-haired man nodded. "Aye sir."

"Galactica Actual to Starbuck, do you read?"

Her voice was heard after a brief crackle. "Yes, sir. Starbuck here. What do you need, boss?"

"Did you find the source of that signal yet?"

"Yeah. It's coming from some sort of ruins, at about the area you and the president were at yesterday. I can't tell what they were though. It's mostly buried."

Roslin leaned over to Adama. "I think we should send the archaeologists over there to take a look."

"Good idea," he told her before turning back to the wireless. "Starbuck, are the archaeologists down there yet?"

"Yes, sir."

"Have them find you so we can dig out whatever's generating that signal," he told her.

Two hours later, the president and the admiral were still studying the scans. "I think we're missing something," she commented.

"We won't know much more until the archaeologists report back," he mentioned.

"True, but something is still not- I mean I feel like we're overlooking something," she assessed.

He faced her. "What would you suggest then?"

Thinking for a moment, she rested a hand on the console. Then she spoke again. "Bill, could we get the rest of the solar system on the viewscreen? I want a better look at our surroundings."

"Alright," he said, turning to tell Gaeta to change the screen.

A moment later, Laura saw all the planets, from the small ones close to the sun, to the larger ones with swirled clouds, rings, and even a distant planet that she thought could be a moon. She sat back to study the view, as if an answer would somehow appear in a line of subtext at the bottom of the screen. Her attention drifted to the reddish brown planet. Something about it caused her to pause. Then she saw it, a small flash, barely visible, but still a flash.

"I think you should try scanning the next planet away from the sun," she told Bill.

"Why? It's probably just as uninhabitable as the other one," Saul grumbled.

"Call it a hunch," Laura remarked.

At the first scan, the other planet gave nothing away. "I'm sorry, Laura. There's nothing down there, and from the scans of the atmosphere, there probably never was anything down there."

She shook her head. "No. Try it again."

Bill sighed, but continued to humor her. The second scan also came up empty, but he soon realized why. "There's a transmission that's blocking our scans."

"Sir, we might be able to scramble it long enough to get a few descent scans if I can figure out the frequency," Gaeta suggested.

The admiral looked to the man. "Good thinking, Lieutenant. Get to it."

After a moment, scans of an unoccupied base appeared. A tower in the middle of it was sending out the transmission. "It seems that your hunch was right, Madame President," Bill conceded.

"Whatever that is, it's worth exploring," she stated.

"It's not very big. Whoever used it must've had temporary intentions. From what we can see, it's only got that tower and four sections surrounding it," he pointed out as their scanning window closed. "But I'll see if I can organize a team."

After lunch Adama stood in the docking bay with Helo, Racetrack, Hotdog, and Athena. "We don't know if there are any functioning life support systems in there, so you know to where your environmental suits. I want constant radio contact in case you come up against some sort of booby trap or technical difficulty."

"Yes, sir," they all replied.

He nodded. "Good hunting."

In CIC Gaeta managed to scramble the transmission long enough to see that the Raptor had safely landed. "They're on the planet, sir."

"I hope they find something useful," Laura remarked.

"So say we all," Bill responded.

While they were watching the viewscreen the phone rang. The admiral reached for the phone. "Adama. Yes, she's right here. Hang on." He handed the phone to Laura. "It's Lee."

She nodded and took the phone. "Yes? Again? Oh, did he now? Alright, I'm coming." Her mouth slipped into a tight frown as she hung up the phone.

"Dare I ask what that was about?" Bill inquired.

"Zarek arranged another meeting for the Quorum. He's not even giving us time to find anything," she fumed.

"He's up to something. I'd better come with you," Bill suggested.

She shook her head, lightly resting a hand on his forearm. "Actually I think it's better if you don't this time. If he's up to something, I'm more likely to find out about it if he's not worried about you watching him."

"But he could-"

"Lee will be there. I'll be alright," she told him.

He took a deep breath. "I don't like it one bit."

"I'll be fine," she stated.

As she left for Colonial One, Bill sighed, looking over to Saul. "You want to have that conversation now?"

Saul raised his eyebrow, but then nodded. "Now's fine."

They headed over to the control room. Once Adama had closed the door, he and Tigh stared at each other, letting the silence take over. Adama took a seat. "Well? Are you going talk or just stand there all day?"

Tigh took the other chair. He took his time, facing the admiral. "Bill, I didn't tell you I was a Cylon when I first found out because I knew it would be another blow to you. That, and I didn't want to believe it myself."

"So you omitted what happened to be a vital truth from your commanding officer?" Adama challenged.

Sighing, Tigh nodded. "I frakked up again. I'm sorry. I'm sorry about the blonde, Caprica. I'm sorry I'm such a lousy excuse for an XO. Mostly, I'm sorry I'm such a frakking coward."

Adama kept the cold, stoic expression firmly in place. "I asked you before. What are you going to do about that woman?"

Tigh sat back in his chair. "I'm going to do right by her. She's not like the others. She deserves someone who'll be there for her, and for the baby. I never wanted to be a family man, but obviously the powers that be had other plans. That's irony for you."

"Irony's a bitch. Everyone I've trusted has turned out to be a Cylon. I'm probably the last of the Final Five. Now that would be the ultimate irony," Adama responded.

The colonel smirked. "Something tells me you're not a Cylon. From what I've seen, you either have to be a drunk, a moron, a cold-hearted back-stabbing bitch like the president's aide, or the epitome of bad luck."

Adama smirked. "And I'm not 'the epitome of bad luck?"

"I think the president would protest if you claimed that you were," Tigh pointed out.

_Even with one eye, he's observant_. "I still need to know a few things. Where do you stand with the fleet, and with the Cylons?"

Tigh took a deep breath, weighing his next words carefully. "I don't give a frak what the Cylons want with me. I'm not going to do it. They can get somebody else. As for the fleet. I am Colonel Saul Tigh, XO of _Galactica_, and that's the man I'll be 'till the day I die. When I first signed on to this, I promised to serve the fleet with every fiber of my being. That hasn't changed."

Bill regarded his friend, weighing the evidence and testimony in his mind as a judge weighs a trial. The man on trial was more than just his XO; Saul was his friend for over thirty years. Saul Tigh had always been a deeply flawed man. At that moment Bill realized that it was those flaws that made his friend so human. He put a hand out toward his friend. "I'm willing to overlook the Cylon part if you keep doing your duty. Deal?"

Saul gave him a genuine smile and shook his hand. "Deal." Then he glanced at his watch. "Shouldn't we have heard from the president by now?"

The earlier feelings of worry rushed back to Bill. "You're right. I think it's time I dropped in on Zarek. Care to join me?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Saul replied with a smile.

On _Colonial One_, the president had not called because the meeting had run over the usual time. "As I told you before, we haven't had enough time to bring any reports to you. At least give us two more days," Roslin requested, leaning on the table as she stood.

"Caprica makes a motion to wait two more days," Lee chimed in.

Laura gave him an appreciative smile. Zarek sighed loudly. "Mr. Adama, there are more important things at work than you realize at your inexperienced stage."

The president looked over to Zarek, raising an eyebrow. "Mr. Vice President, I recall that Mr. Adama did a fine job as an interim president. What he lacks in experience he makes up for in accessing what needs to be done. Why don't we vote? All in favor of extending this by two days? All opposed?" As she watched only Zarek's hand rise, she noticed the admiral and the colonel enter the room with a few marines, out of Zarek's view. "It seems, Mr. Zarek, that you're outnumbered."

Lee stood. "I believe this concludes the meeting, Madame President?"

She nodded. "Yes."

As the other Quorum members began to file out, Zarek leaned toward Roslin. "I need a word with you again, Madame President."

Bill Adama appeared to his left suddenly. "I believe we need a word with you, Zarek."

Tigh watched the vice president closely. When the other man made a motion toward his blazer pocket, Tigh grabbed him by the neck, pressing him against the wall. "Admiral, get this Cylon off me! He's trying to eliminate a legitimate member of the government," Zarek demanded.

"I'm not the one who brought a gun to what was supposed to be a standard meeting. Admiral, I think you'd better check his pockets," Tigh remarked.

Adama found a hand gun in the blazer pocket. "Care to explain this one? The last time I checked, there was a 'no guns' policy at Quorum meetings."

"I wasn't going to hurt her; I just wanted to persuade her to resign," Zarek protested.

Tigh shook his head. "Throwing a coup de etat is my job."

"You're under arrest," Adama informed the vice president.

"For what? I haven't done anything yet," Zarek reminded.

One of the marines handcuffed him as the admiral spoke. "You admitted to conspiracy to coerce the president."

"Damn you, Adama," Zarek spat under his breath as he was escorted from the room.

Tigh went with him while Bill turned to Laura. "How are you feeling?"

"Just fine Bill, at least physically. Something tells me this isn't the end of whatever he was planning. He's probably got others involved," she answered.

"Yes, but for now he's one less problem," Bill stated.

They headed back to _Galactica_ and soon found themselves in CIC again. Laura's stomach growled. She sighed and looked at Bill. "It's been a long day and I'm starving. Somehow I missed lunch. Why don't we order up a snack at least?"

His stomach growled as well. "That's a good idea."

Green noodles were sent up and they were eating in the control room when a transmission came through. "It's from Helo," Tigh informed him.

The admiral dashed back down to the center of the room. "This is Galactica Actual. What have you found?"

"It's what we thought, only four small rooms and the signal tower. Life support wasn't functioning, but the database was. Apparently the people only built this base as a marker to let others know where they'd gone. We have the coordinates to another planet in a star system that doesn't seem too far away," Helo explained.

"That's excellent news. Was there anything else?" Adama asked.

"Their technology is a bit different from ours, but not too hard to figure out. Whoever they were, they networked their computers though. And their database had several hundreds of languages. Ours just happened to be one of them," the captain finished.

"Good, we'll see you back on _Galactica_ then," the admiral closed.

Laura folded her hands in front of her as the transmission ended. "I really hope those coordinates prove to be worth our while. I'm tired of coming up short."

He nodded. "Since we can't live on Earth, we've got to follow any leads we can get."

That night Bill was looking over the coordinates as well as pictures from the recent mission while Laura slept in his bed. She tried to keep her eyes open and wait for him, but exhaustion from the day beat her willpower as her eyelids shut.

_She was in the opera house again, chasing Hera. But this time the girl stopped in front of the Six. Six held a small blonde girl in her arms as she stood by Baltar. Then the doors opened. Laura followed them through a blinding white light, and then found herself in a concert hall of the opera house. Four figures stood in the first row of box seats, wearing white robes. Six walked over to the one farthest on the left and reached up with one hand to remove the hood. It was Saul. As she stood next to him, Baltar pulled back the hoods of the other three, revealing Tory, Chief Tyrol, and Anders. Though it seemed odd to Laura, it was as if she was seeing information that she was already aware of. _

_Then she heard a tiny voice enter the room from another door. A small girl with auburn hair looked around the room, calling out "Mommy? Mommy?" Something about the girl caused Laura to hold her breath, waiting for someone to claim the girl._

_Laura then heard Six's voice. "The Three Sisters prophecy will be fulfilled."_

The phone rang, startling her out of her dream. She sat up, noticing that Bill was not in the room. "Bill, your phone is ringing."

"Laura, could you get that?" he called from the bathroom.

"Sure," she responded. "Hello?"

"Figures you'd be the one to answer the phone," Cottle remarked.

"What is it, Jack?" Laura encouraged, forgetting about the dream.

"I want you and Bill over here immediately. Something's come up regarding the blood work."

The color drained from Laura's face. "Is it bad news?"

There was a pause on the other end. "In a manner of speaking."

(A/N: For some reason, I always thought that Caprica would have a daughter, so in my version she's expecting a girl)

(My thanks to McGonagallFan, carolann, and Mamabella for reviewing :D)


	6. The Fifth

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 6: The Fifth

Bill and Laura sat in Cottle's office as he closed the door. "The cancer's back, isn't it?" Laura assessed.

The doctor sighed, shaking his head. "I wish it was that simple. I ran your blood work through twice to be sure."

"Did I catch something from Earth then?" she probed.

He sat down at his desk, folding his hands in front of him. "No Laura. The tests confirmed that you're a Cylon, probably the last of the Final Five. Apparently being on Earth triggered something in your programming. You purged yourself of a human illness, like some sort of de-frag or reboot. All the damage from the cancer has been repaired, and that is impossible in a human. I'm so sorry."

Laura did not hear much after "you're a Cylon" as she stood. "All this time. I'm what we've been running from," she said quietly.

Bill stood as well, but only looked at her, shell-shocked to move further by the discovery. She suddenly pushed past him, walking out the door. Cottle walked over to him. "I was afraid of this. You'd better go after her."

"Why Laura?" Bill asked.

"How should I know?" Cottle grumbled.

The other man sighed heavily. "What do we do now?"

Cottle glanced at the door Laura had left from. "Do you love her?"

Startled, Bill stared at him. "What kind of question is that?"

"Do you love her? If you love her, does it matter that she's a Cylon at this point?" Cottle questioned.

Bill looked away and shook his head. "No, it doesn't matter."

"Then go after her!" Cottle exclaimed, pointing toward the door. "That poor woman's probably falling apart from the inside over what I've told her and you just let her walk out the door!"

Realizing that the doctor was right, Bill dashed out of Life Station. As he reached the hall though, he had no idea where she had gone. _What would I do if it was me? I'd go find the nearest airlock_. At that thought, he took off running, hoping that he was not too late.

He was only a few feet away from the control room when he heard the doors and the rush of atmosphere being sucked out into space. His heart stopped in his chest. _I'm too late. She got around the safety switch_, he thought. Then he heard mild cursing from the other side of the door as the outer doors closed again. He plowed through the door, finding Laura as she leaned over the control panel.

Her face was streaked with tears. "I can't seem to open the inner doors if I've pushed the button," she admitted quietly.

"You can't activate it by yourself. The inner doors won't open if the button's been pushed," he said, standing behind her, resting a hand on her shoulder.

She sniffed, turning to face him. "I'm a Cylon. You should airlock me before I have a chance to cause any more problems."

"You haven't done anything wrong. I don't know what you're talking about," he relayed.

Crossing her arms in front of her, she stepped away from the control panel. "I led us to Earth, to a dead world. I did that, through Pythia. How can I be the dying leader if I'm actually a Cylon? Wait, I know. The part of me that was Laura Roslin died when Laura the Cylon kicked in."

The tears began anew and he wrapped his arms around her. "We led them here. It's not our fault that whoever was in charge of the planet nuked it. We couldn't have known."

She pulled away from him. "You don't understand. I'm a Cylon who's been in a leadership position for quite a while. Who knows what I've screwed up? And you, how can you even want to touch me? I'm the enemy, like Saul."

"He and I have made peace," Bill mentioned.

"That doesn't change the fact that you shouldn't trust me, let alone allow me to stay with you," she argued.

Reaching out to her, he cupped her face in his hands. Then he kissed her gently. "Laura, I love you. It doesn't matter to me that you're a Cylon."

"Then why didn't you follow me immediately? I would've airlocked myself if I had been able to," she pointed out.

He let his hands drop to her waist. "I was a fool, and I was in shock. Jack brought me out of it. Laura, listen to me. It doesn't matter."

"How can you say that? I belong in the brig," she protested.

Holding her close to him, he whispered in her ear. "I don't care. I don't care that you're a Cylon because I love you, and that's what matters."

"Oh Bill," she said softly. He moved from her ear to her lips and kissed her passionately. She kissed him back with equal intensity.

Both were breathing hard as he pulled away. "Come on. Let's go home."

She nodded, looping her arm around his. The walk back to their quarters was silent, but as they entered and he closed the hatch she asked, "Bill, if what you said about the airlock is true, then how did Callie Tyrol commit suicide?"

His eyes widened. "Frak, you're right. All this time and we didn't notice."

"But why in the world would anyone want to kill her?" Laura wondered as she headed into the bathroom where she had left her pajamas when Cottle had called.

"I don't know. Galen Tyrol loved her, despite their problems. When I had to demote him for a while, he spoke badly of her because he was mad at her for dying," Bill replied, putting on his pajamas.

Laura emerged from the bathroom, making her way over to the bed. "Tory said that Nikki was found wandering around the hall near the airlock."

Bill sighed heavily as he joined her on the bed. "If it's true and someone did murder her, we need to tell him."

She yawned. "We'll deal with it in the morning. It's late and both of us could use some sleep." He nodded, yawing himself. However, any thoughts of feeling sleepy were delayed as he kissed her deeply. It was a few hours before the peace of sleep overtook them.

In the morning Laura was unusually quiet as they got ready for work. "What's on your mind?" Bill asked her, handing her a warm mug of coffee.

She took the cup, smiling briefly in thanks. "I've been trying to figure out why anyone would want Callie out of the way."

He raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"And I keep coming up blank. We're missing something," Laura answered.

"She hated Cylons. She was the one who shot Boomer," Bill mentioned.

"Which doesn't help us. That lends credence to the theory that she killed herself because she found out she was married to a Cylon," Laura pointed out.

Bill rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I hate loose ends. We've got too many other things to worry about to have a killer loose in the fleet."

"I suppose we'll deal with it later then. In the meantime, I'd like to know if the archaeologists found anything on Earth," Laura remarked.

He nodded. "So would I."

Later they stood in CIC, waiting to hear from Kara. Laura paced the lower deck. "Starbuck's not going to be on the wireless any faster if you wear a hole in the floor," Bill chided her.

Stopping next to him, she sighed. "You're right. I just hate waiting."

"I figured that. Patience isn't always one of your strong points," he teased.

She swatted his arm playfully. "You, sir, are a pest." Tigh snorted and she seemed to remember where she was as she stepped away from the admiral, crossing her arms in front of her.

Then they heard the wireless crackle. "Galactica, this is Starbuck."

"Galactica Actual here. What have you got?" the admiral asked.

"The signal was coming from part of a building. Most if it had collapsed, but we managed to get down inside part of it. It's some sort of laboratory. It's got human remains and weird schematics of the human body drawn. We've got pictures. I don't know if they were trying to make Cylons, but it looks like they started with electronic prosthetics and moved to using an artificial brain in a human body. It's weird stuff down here, boss," Kara informed him.

"Does it have computer systems? Are any of them functioning?" Adama inquired.

"Nope. If it's electronic, it's been fried for a long time. The only thing still running is the signal. It's actually transmitting something. There's a screen down here that goes with it, and a one line message. 'The last will find the way to humanity.' I have no clue what that means. But as for the actual transmission, the part of it at the top is actually putting out an infrared flash. The only way we found it out was doing this was by the scanner in the Raptor. It's not something a human can see."

Bill and Laura exchanged glances before he spoke to Kara again. "Good job, Starbuck. Was there anything else?"

"No, sir," she responded.

"Then bring in the cat. We've got some new coordinates to test out. Galactica is jumping first. Then if we find something the rest of the fleet can follow," he told her.

"Aye, sir. We should be back in space again in a few hours," she replied. "What about the Cylons?"

He shrugged and looked at Laura. "Let them come with us. They're not shooting at us yet, and maybe they'll be useful," she stated.

Bill turned back to the wireless. "Tell them they're welcome to join us, provided they don't have malicious intentions."

Then he broadcasted his intentions to the fleet, as well as the rebel Cylons. "Sir, Colonial One is insisting on coming with us," Gaeta informed the admiral.

Laura rolled her eyes. "I should've known they wouldn't dream of letting me have too many days off."

"They say Lee and a few others will stay behind on the Gemenon Traveler to maintain the rest of the fleet," Gaeta added.

"Fine, if Colonial One really wants to come, than why not?" Laura grumbled.

The admiral dealt her a wry grin as he passed the message to Colonial One.

As Adama set the wireless back in its holder, he looked over at Roslin. "The last will find the way to humanity," she repeated quietly.

"Madame President, may I have a word?" Bill inquired.

She nodded and they walked over to the control room. Letting him close the door, she spoke. "I did see a flash. For whatever reason, that signal was meant for me, wasn't it?"

He knew the question was rhetoric. "Yes. It seems that with or without Pythia, you're still meant to lead us somewhere."

A small smile graced her face. "Yes, it does look that way. However, I didn't give you coordinates."

"You were the one who pointed out that reddish planet and wanted to look at it. And you were the one who made me look again. There are other humans out there and we're about to find them," he commented.

In that moment, in that smile, she saw genuine hope. I don't want to let you down. Please let me be right about this. "Then what are we doing in here? We have a planet to find." He chuckled and they returned to CIC to try the new coordinates in a few hours.

(My thanks to WonderfallsonDaisies, carolann, kywildcat, and McGonagalFan for reviewing :D)


	7. The Three Sisters Prophecy

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 7: The Three Sisters Prophecy

_Galactica_ arrived at the coordinates in two jumps a week apart. In between jumps, a return to business as usual kept Bill and Laura's minds off of recent events. There were daily Quorum meetings, a few minor power-outages on Galactica, and numerous committee meetings. A fleet-wide status report on supplies was collected and sent to Galactica as well as Colonial One via long range transmission, showing that though they were not out of algae, certain medical supplies would soon be gone. On day six the admiral halted all Raptor movements, deciding to have the specialists run diagnostic checks on them for the next few days.

On day seven from the first jump they found hope. A yellow star was surrounded by five planets, the third showing signs of being habitable. Laura smiled with a mixture of relief and hope, a few tears slipping down her cheeks as she unconsciously gripped one of Bill's hands. She did not drag her eyes away from the viewscreen until she felt him squeeze her hand.

"Well Madame President, you were right," he stated.

Quickly wiping her face with her hands, she squared her shoulders, taking back her professional appearance. "Thank you, Admiral. Now I believe we've got a lot of work before anyone heads to the surface."

He nodded, then turned to the crew. "We're going to scan for signs of life and check on the atmospheric conditions. Just because it looks good from here doesn't mean it is."

As they began the scans, the base ship appeared. "Looks like they took you up on your offer," Tigh stated.

With the appearance of the baseship, Laura recalled the dream. "I need a word with D'Anna on a secure channel," she told the admiral.

He raised an eyebrow. "Mind if I ask what this is about?"

She leaned closer to him. "Let's just say she's got some explaining to do regarding the Final Five."

"Alright," he responded.

Laura borrowed Bill's office, seating herself at his desk while she waited for D'Anna to respond. She had just called with her request for a private conversation. Fifteen minutes later D'Anna's face appeared on the mini-viewscreen. "Laura, what can I do for you today? It must be important if you had to speak with me privately."

The other woman brushed off D'Anna's tone, seeing as the Cylon was not taking the conversation seriously. "It's time you and I had a chat about the Final Five again. You told us that four were in our fleet. What about the fifth? Surely since Earth turned out to be not what we had expected, there is no longer a reason to hide the fifth, is there?"

D'Anna opened her mouth to speak, but then closed it again. She sighed, looking back at Laura. "Fine. The truth is that I never saw the fifth Cylon. I did see five of them, but the last one kept its head covered by a white hood. Speaking of the Final Five, what are your plans regarding your aide, Tory?"

Frowning, Laura folded her hands in front of her. "As far as I'm concerned, she doesn't work for me anymore and hasn't for a while. You can keep her."

"That's what I had figured. She's due back on our ship in a couple of hours anyway. She said she had some business on _Galactica_. Naturally I assumed it was with you," D'Anna mentioned.

Laura shook her head. "The only business she would have on _Galactica_ is another conjugal visit to Gaius Baltar."

D'Anna's eyes widened with a rage that Laura was not expecting, though the Cylon's gaze was not directed at Laura. "I can't believe she could… how dare she… how could he… that weasel!" D'Anna tried to articulate, mostly to herself before ending the transmission.

"I didn't know she had a thing for Baltar too," a familiar voice behind Laura remarked.

She turned, smirking to see Bill. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to know that I'll be nowhere near Baltar when she gets her hands on him," Bill answered.

"I just don't understand what in the world that man has that women find so attractive. He's an arrogant, self-righteous, pompous lunatic who was probably one of those perverted little boys who got his kicks looking up women's skirts!" Laura exclaimed.

Bill snickered. "It's nice to know how you really feel about him."

She stood, shaking her head. "He's a lecherous worm who should've been airlocked."

"Now that you got that out of your system, would you like to join me as I finish the scans? You might find them interesting," he offered.

"You've got my curiosity," she told him as she followed him out of the office.

When they reached CIC, he used the viewscreen's demographic functions. Large areas of land were suddenly highlighted. "There is an energy signature that resembles the scrambler from that fourth planet we found, but it's either damaged or off. These areas that are showing up in red are populated by humans. These small areas marked in blue show technology emitting a traceable signal."

Laura looked at the screen in fascination. "If there are truly people down there, can we communicate with them?"

"Most likely yes, providing that there aren't too many language differences," he paused, folding his hands in front of him. "However, I'm not about to make contact without knowing who we're talking to first. We don't know if they're hostile or not. I'm planning to send a few groups out for reconnaissance."

She nodded. "Then let's go with that plan." Then she turned to Tigh. "Colonel, do you know the current whereabouts of Caprica Six?"

"She's currently staying in my quarters," he admitted quietly.

"I would like to see her," the president requested.

Saul shrugged. "Go ahead."

Laura turned to leave, but Bill caught her. "What's this about?"

"I need to ask her some questions of a personal nature," she whispered. He let her go, figuring that she would tell him later.

Laura knocked on the hatch, leading to Tigh's quarters. Caprica answered the door, surprised to see the president of all people. "Madame President, please come in."

Laura nodded briefly. "Thank you. I need to ask you a few questions."

The blonde woman shrugged. "Sure. Would you like some tea first? I was just making some when you knocked."

The president paused, contemplating the domestic nature of such an offer. "I suppose that would be alright."

"I'll be right back. Why don't you have a seat?" Caprica offered as she returned to the kitchen.

Laura sat on the couch, her thoughts running around the mental track in her mind. _Who would've thought that I would be letting a Cylon serve me tea? Then again, Tory didn't try to kill me. Why should Six? I'm one too though. I never would've imagined that one. I remember growing up so clearly. And if I'm a Cylon, how did I see my mother on the other side of the river? This is all so confusing_.

Caprica returned, handing Laura a cup of tea the jarred her out of her reverie. "Thank you," she remarked. She took a moment to smell the tea. "I haven't had this blend in quite a while. How did you get it? I was told that they were out."

The blonde woman blushed. "Your doctor had some in his stores for medicinal purposes and prescribed some for me. He said that it would be good for me as well as the baby."

"I'm glad he's able to see to your needs," Laura stated politely, taking a sip of tea.

Caprica took a sip as well as she faced Laura. "Madame President, I know that for you to come and see me, it must be important."

"You're right, Six. I've been debating how much I can tell you though," Laura responded.

The other woman sighed. "I know we haven't seen eye-to-eye as the expression goes, and I'm sure you would rather see me in the brig, but I choose the human side over the Cylon way of life. I have a name, Caprica."

_She has a point. She does behave more like Athena. Then there is the fact that she has been trying to help us, that she willingly came to our side with Athena when they brought back Hera_. Laura set her cup down, folding her hands in front of her on the table. "I'm not sending you back to the brig."

Relief washed over Caprica's face. "That's good to know. But why are you here then?"

"The dream has changed," Laura began.

Caprica nodded. "Yes, I know. It's changed because of you somehow."

"Why me?" Laura questioned.

The other woman shrugged. "You've always been the one guiding it. Your destiny has somehow moved beyond just finding Earth."

Laura leaned closer. "What can you tell me about the Three Sisters Prophecy?"

Caprica sipped her tea. "It was supposed to be a legend. I don't know much about it, only Hera represents the Cylons and humans uniting." She paused to touch her abdomen. "My child represents the Cylons uniting with the Final Five. I suppose the last child represents the Thirteenth tribe uniting with both the Cylons and your people. I'm afraid that's all I can offer."

"Can you guess who the third child belongs to? And why is it a girl instead of Tyrol's son?" Laura inquired.

The blonde woman shrugged. "I can't move in the dream. That's how I figured that you were the one guiding it; you're the only one operating without a fixed path. Athena and I cannot break out of our roles in the dream."

"Which means that we won't find out who the girl is supposed to be," Laura mentioned.

Caprica shook her head. "It means that you are the only one who can possibly interact with the girl. Whatever she means to the dream, you are the one who is supposed to find that out. Beyond that I don't know anything else."

Laura smiled briefly. "I should probably be going. Thank you for the tea."

As Laura stood, Caprica reached for her hand. "Wait. D'Anna doesn't know who the last Cylon is. She wasn't meant to know, but I think you are. It connects back to you. 'All this has happened before…'"

"'All this will happen again.' It's a well-known line from Pythia," Laura responded.

Caprica let her hand go, but walked her to the door. Then she glanced at her feet for a moment. "I don't have many friends here, but I would like some. Someday I would like to call you my friend."

Laura took a deep breath, suppressing the past for the moment. "In time, I hope you're right."

The blonde woman reached for the door, but looked back to Laura with worry in her eyes. "I don't know what is to come, but please be careful. If someone else realizes how connected you are to all of this, you could be in danger."

"I appreciate your concern, but I'm already aware of that. Thank you again for the tea," Laura stated as she left, heading back to the admiral's quarters.

Bill returned a few hours later. Laura looked up from the book she was reading on the couch. "Did you find anything more?"

He walked over to the pitcher, pouring himself a glass of water. "No, but I've sent a recon mission down to the surface, Kara, Dee, Athena, Racetrack, Hotdog, and Anders."

"Are you sure that we can trust Mr. Anders?" Laura inquired.

Bill unbuttoned his jacket and sat down next to her. "This is a test for him. I'm hoping it'll also give him and Kara a chance to talk."

Laura smirked. "How do you solve a conflict? You lock the two offended parties in a small room and they will either work it out, or only one will survive."

He shrugged. "Something like that."

"How has Mr. Gaeta been holding up? He seems fine in CIC, but I thought I'd ask anyway," Laura mentioned.

"He's managing. And I'm seeing to it that he's not bored. He'll be managing a lot of the data we get from the scans and the recons. Now, what was so important that you had to talk to Saul's Six?" Bill questioned.

A thought made Laura smile wryly. _And here we have the caveman principal: when in doubt of how to define a woman, define her by the man_. "First of all, she's not 'Saul's Six' as you so eloquently put it. She calls herself Caprica."

"Alright then, why did you need to see Caprica?" he acquiesced.

"The dream I've been having about the opera house has changed. It used to be Athena and myself chasing after Hera. Then Caprica would pick her up and walk with Baltar into the concert hall and I would wake up. The last time I went into the concert hall as well. Athena was there, and Caprica, but so were the Final Four. Caprica was holding a blonde girl. Then a red-haired girl walked in asking for her mother. Caprica said something about the Three Sisters Prophecy. I woke up after that," Laura explained.

Bill rubbed the bridge of his nose. "On a hunch I'd say that the blonde girl is the child that S-Caprica will have. But who does the other girl belong to?"

Laura crossed one knee over the other. "That's what I wanted to ask Caprica about. She's not clear on the Three Sisters Prophecy, but she told me that the first child is the uniting of the Cylons and humans, the second relates to the Cylons and the Final Five, and the third relates to Cylons, us, and the Thirteenth tribe. All that leads me back to two questions: who is the girl and what is my role in all this?"

"Have you thought that you might just be seeing a younger version of yourself? Since you're one of the Final Five, I think it's a reasonable suggestion that this child is actually you," Bill pondered.

"But Bill, I'm in the dream," Laura reminded.

"That doesn't mean you can't see yourself. You said you saw the other Final Four. Maybe for some reason you see yourself, but younger," he offered.

She sighed heavily. "I don't know. I also don't know why Nikki Tyrol isn't a part of all this. If he's half-Cylon, then why isn't he in the dream?"

Bill thought for a moment. "There is a possibility there that only half-Cylons born from female Cylons are important. You said it was called the Three Sisters Prophecy, not the 'Two Sisters and one Brother' Prophecy. And then there is the possibility that perhaps Galen Tyrol isn't Nikki's father."

Laura's brow furrowed. "That's a rather crude suggestion. What made you come up with that?"

"You remember the trouble we had with Baltar's book, don't you? Callie Tyrol was a big supporter of Baltar's book. You mentioned Baltar earlier and I've been wondering if there was something more between them than just Callie's seemingly radical politics," he recalled.

"I don't know, Bill. That's a bit of a stretch," Laura commented, leaving the couch to get ready for bed.

He stood, taking the glasses into the kitchen. "Maybe. Or perhaps it's bringing us one step closer to finding out why someone wanted her dead. Jealousy is a strong motive these days."

As she prepared for bed that evening, Laura removed her wig in the bathroom before brushing her teeth. She had the toothbrush in her mouth before truly looking at her reflection. Having gotten into the habit of not looking past her eyes in the mirror anymore, she did not notice until she had brushed the upper row of her teeth. She blinked several times, seeing new hair on her head. Taking her free hand, she felt the short auburn hairs. What should have looked like only tufts looked like three or four months of hair growth. _I suppose there's an upside to finding out you're a Cylon_, she thought to herself before putting on the headscarf.

(A/N: I borrowed the idea that Nikki isn't Tyrol's son from episode 4x12)

(My thanks to kywildcat, WonderfallsonDaisies, carolann, McGonagallFan, and Mamabella for reviewing :D)


	8. Sins of the father

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 8: "Sins of the father"

In the morning Bill and Laura talked while they waited for Jaffries to bring their coffee. "If we go with your jealousy idea, was someone jealous of Callie then for having Baltar's child?"

"As disturbing as it sounds, it is a possibility," Bill stated. "Someone could've gotten a hold of information and used it to their advantage."

At the mentioning of 'information,' an idea occurred to Laura. "Bill, what if Callie found out something she wasn't supposed to?"

Bill picked up Laura's line of thought. "And someone wanted to shut her up?" Laura nodded. He frowned, continuing the thought. "But what information could she get that would be deadly?"

They stopped their conversation to get the coffee, resuming it when they had the steaming mugs in their hands. "What if it was more than just Tyrol being a Cylon? What if Callie found out about Saul, Anders, and Tory?" Laura supposed.

Taking a sip of his coffee, Bill spoke. "Then we have four suspects."

They headed to CIC, deciding that Bill would ask Saul first. While Laura looked over the data with Gaeta, Bill and Saul walked over to his office. "We have reason to suspect that Callie Tyrol was murdered," Bill began after seeing that that hatch was closed.

Saul looked as if Bill had just told him he had been drinking motor oil for the past week instead of liquor. "Murdered? Does Tyrol know?"

"I'm trying to find out anything I can. In order to commit suicide, she would've had to bypass the safety switch. Being a specialist, she might've known how to do it, but I have reason to suspect that someone helped her. Do you remember what went on that evening?" the admiral questioned.

Tigh sighed heavily as he sat down. "Tyrol, Anders, Tory, and I had a meeting. We were discussion what to do about Baltar. We suspected that he was the Fifth Cylon, so we were trying to figure out ways of smoking it out of him."

"Did anything unusual happen?" Adama continued.

The colonel snorted. "You mean other than a bunch of Cylons meeting?" Seeing the admiral's expression, Tigh became serious again. "We heard a noise that sounded like someone had followed us, so we ended the meeting early. I went back to my room for a drink. I assumed everyone else went back to their rooms too."

Adama folded his hands in front of him. "Let's say for this discussion that it was Callie. What would you do if she knew? If she threatened to tell someone?"

Tigh could sense where he was going. "I never would've hurt her. No matter what, she was the chief's wife, and if she had threatened to tell, I would've told you first. Hell, I would've airlocked myself before I would've killed her. No matter what she knew, she didn't deserve to die for it," he paused, glancing away for a moment. Ellen came to mind. "No woman should have to die for what they know."

"I believe you, I just had to ask," Bill remarked, sitting as well. "Did anyone else seem to have problems or issues that evening?"

"The president's ex-aide _is_ an issue. We suggested that she talk to Baltar. She assumed we meant that she should sleep with him and got all bent out of shape. She's a real piece of work," Saul responded.

Bill nodded. "Tell me something I don't know."

"Your left boot's untied," Saul commented.

The other man frowned, glancing down at his boot. He snorted and shook his head when he realized that the colonel was correct. Somehow he had only laced one boot that morning. "I meant something pertinent to this discussion."

Tigh smirked. "I wish I could give you more to go on, but that's all I know."

"We don't even know where she is at the moment to question her," Bill reminded.

Both men stood, heading for the door. "Wherever she is, she's probably with Baltar," Saul added.

"We'll have to deal with this later. It's time we got back to monitoring the recon missions," Adama stated.

The reconnaissance missions were scheduled in shifts over the course of five days. When she was not with Bill checking on the recon missions, at a Quorum meeting, or at a strategic meeting, Laura pondered the dream and the Three Sisters prophecy. Something continued to interrupt the dream just before she had the chance to interact with the girl. One day it was the alarm clock. Another day it was the phone. And then it was Bill knocking over a chair in the dark on the way to his desk.

Those assigned to the recon missions returned to Galactica for meals and shift changes. Laura was attempting to pretend that stuffed algae cheese rolls were edible on the third day of the recon missions when she spotted Athena standing by the door with her tray. Taking her tray with her, she walked over to the pilot.

Athena faced her, startled. "Madame President, what are you doing here?"

"I need to ask you something important, but not here. It's about the Three Sisters Prophecy," Laura whispered.

The dark-haired woman studied the president for a moment, deciding that a simple discussion could not hurt, despite their past conflicts. "I'm going to see Hera in a minute. Why don't you come with me?"

"Alright," Laura responded.

When they entered Athena's quarters, Dee was there with Hera. Athena and Laura set their trays down on the table. Dee closed the book that she had been reading to Hera, looking back to Athena. "I fed her lunch. How long until you need me again?"

Athena glanced back at the president. "About an hour."

Dee ruffled Hera's hair, and then headed for the door. "Madame President," she stated with a nod.

"Dee," the president responded.

Athena hugged Hera. "I missed you, sweetie. Did you have fun today?"

Hera nodded, pointing to papers that had been colored on. "Pictures."

At the mentioning of pictures, Athena inhaled sharply. The last time Hera had been drawing pictures, the blonde Cylon had been the target. As Athena made her way over to the pictures, Hera suddenly noticed Laura. "Lala! Lala!" the little girl exclaimed, running over to hug Laura's legs.

Laura took a deep breath, picking the girl up, walking over to Athena. "I suppose she remembers you," Athena retorted.

"Lieutenant Agathon, I did not come here to rehash the pain of that situation," she stated.

Athena snatched Hera back. "Then why are you here?"

Hera squirmed in her mother's arms enough to reach for one of the pictures. On it was a girl with red hair. She held it out to Laura. "For Lala."

Laura took it. "Thank you." Then she looked back to Athena. "In a way, this is why I'm here. I need to know about the Three Sisters Prophecy."

Athena set Hera down on the carpet, heading back to the table. She and Laura resumed their lunches. "It's just a legend."

The president took a bite of her food and grimaced briefly. "Humor me."

The dark-haired woman took a bite and shared the reaction. "The first three children born to three Cylons will be girls. Because of their origins they are called 'Sisters.' More than just representing the unification of Cylons and humans, they link the Thirteenth Colony to it all. The mother of the last child is the one to maintain peace between the regular Cylons, the Final Five, the Twelve Colonies, and the Thirteenth Tribe."

Laura took a deep breath, folding her hands in her lap. "That's a big responsibility for someone."

Athena nodded, then touched Laura's forearm. "I hope you find her before anyone else does. The last Cylon is a woman and she could be in big trouble if the wrong people find out."

As Laura looked down at the picture, Athena's words sank in and her head shot up. "Wait, you said 'mother.' Are you absolutely certain that the last child is the daughter of the Final Cylon? What if she is the final Cylon?"

The other woman put her hands up. "Hey, I'm just telling you what the Three Sisters Prophecy refers to. If you're asking about the dream, I don't have a clue what's going on with that anymore. Maybe the red-haired girl in the dream is the last Sister, but then who's her mother if that's the case?"

Laura took a gulp from her glass of water and closed her eyes for a moment. "Impossible," she whispered.

"Madame President, are you alright?" Athena asked.

_No, I am most certainly not alright. I have no idea what's going on anymore_. "Yes, I think I'll be going now. Thank you for answering my questions," Laura responded, standing quickly.

Laura dashed out of the door and began walking down the hall. Her marines moved from behind her to all around her. That in itself did not seem odd, merely protective. But then she noticed the lower half of the face under one of the helmets. "Excuse me, who are you? Where are my usual marines?" Laura probed.

"Detained," the man said before the whole group stopped abruptly. Suddenly a white cloth was thrust in Laura's face. She was barely aware that they were dragging her away somewhere when the world around her went black.

Athena had been back inside her quarters less than five minutes when she no longer heard the marines' boots. Normally a group like that would echo down the hallway for a while. She stuck her head out to see that they had vanished. Hoping that she was wrong, Athena called CIC.

Bill picked up the phone. "Adama."

"Admiral, this is Athena. I think the president's been kidnapped. I can't see or hear her guards anywhere," Athena told him.

Fear gripped his stomach as he replied, "Thank you." Then he hung up and faced Saul. "Athena thinks that L- the president has been kidnapped. I want you to take two security teams and cut off the hallways around the Agathons' quarters.

Tigh was about to respond with "Yes, sir," but the phone rang again. The admiral reached for it again as Tigh put his headset on. "Adama."

"Hello Admiral," the familiar voice of an ex-president began.

Adama rolled his eyes. "Hello Dr. Baltar. Is there a reason you called? You see, I actually spend my days working."

"I'm sure you do, Admiral, and I'm sure that work goes much easier with a certain president by your side," Baltar commented.

The admiral clenched his fist. "What do you want, Dr. Baltar?"

"I'd like to negotiate the release of Vice President Zarek," the other man stated.

Adama snorted. "Why the hell would we want to do that?"

"Because you see, you have something we want, and we have something that you want. We have Laura Roslin. If you want her back alive, you'll give us Tom Zarek. Think of it as an exchange of hostages," Baltar explained.

Adama's clenched fist connected with the console, but his voice was collected. "Why do you want him? Don't you two stand on opposing sides these days?"

He then heard Tory's voice. "Admiral, you have seven hours to comply or we will shoot her. Either way a new government will be made. We will call every hour to see if you are willing to negotiate. On the last hour we will call every fifteen minutes."

"Are the Cylons behind this?" Adama growled.

"No. And if you bring them into it, we'll blame her death on them," Tory told him before her end of the phone hung up.

"What's the plan, Bill?" Saul asked, setting his headset down. Bill walked to his office, motioning for Saul to follow.

(My thanks to McGonagallFan, kywildcat, carolann, and Mamabella for reviewing :D)


	9. The cost of freedom

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel. Thoresine is what I'm going to name their version of Chloroform.

Chapter 9: The cost of freedom

"We have to get her back as soon as possible. The longer she's with them, the more likely it is that they'll kill her," Bill expressed, closing the door behind them.

Saul raised an eyebrow. "What makes you so sure? They don't have anything on her that everyone else doesn't know about. I understand though if you're worried about the cancer."

"She doesn't have cancer anymore," Bill muttered.

His old friend looked at him incredulously. "Then why would-" he stopped as the realization struck him. "She's the Fifth, isn't she? That's why you're worried."

The usual façade that Bill kept on his face slipped. "Yes."

Bill paced his office as Saul watched him. "You gonna come up with a plan, or wear a hole in your floor?"

The admiral glared at the other man before sitting down. "There has to be a way to get her back. I will not let that terrorist out of the brig."

"She wouldn't let you either. I hate to suggest this Bill, but what about D'Anna and the rebel Cylons?" Saul mentioned.

Bill slammed a fist down on the table. "Are you out of your mind, Saul? If we use the Cylons to rescue her, it'll put people against them that much more. That was what Tory threatened."

Saul shook his head. "It doesn't have to. If they help us save the president, they are keeping the legitimate government in place, and showing their support for us. We'll just have to be careful how we get them aboard the ship."

"I don't know. It might work, or it'll rally more people to Zarek's side. Either way whatever we do, we have to do quickly," Bill stated.

"Got a better plan?" the balding man inquired.

The admiral sighed heavily, rubbing the bridge of his nose. _I wish I could go in shooting first and asking questions later_. "Nothing practical."

"We'll get her back, Old Man, one way or another, we'll get her back," Saul promised.

Bill looked back on him, a look of resolve on his face. "Then let's do it. Get D'Anna on the horn."

A few minutes later, Adama had a secure line to D'Anna in his office, with Tigh standing next to him. "Admiral, what is this about? And why hasn't Tory come back to us yet?"

"It seems that she's working with Baltar to kidnap the president," the admiral answered.

"What? This tryst of hers has really gone too far," D'Anna expressed.

"The upside is that since the rest of the fleet hasn't jumped yet, we know they're still on _Galactica_. The downside is that I'm going to need help to get the president back, but if we ask for your help it may turn people against the Cylons even more," Adama relayed.

"That is quite a problem, Admiral. However, if we help you restore the legitimate government, then it may encourage support for the alliance," she suggested.

Adama considered the idea. "Perhaps this can work. The trouble will be getting you aboard by some other means than the docking bay." Tigh cleared his throat, causing Bill to look up at him. "What is it?"

"I just remembered the aft cargo bay. It hasn't been used in years, but maybe they can dock there," the XO suggested.

The admiral turned back to the phone. "We might have a way after all."

While Bill was speaking to D'Anna, Laura blinked her eyes and sat up on what appeared to be a bench. Her vision cleared as her eyes took in the fence that she appeared to be locked behind. She rubbed her temples at the pounding headache as she stood to obtain a better look at her surroundings.

A small brown-haired woman walked toward her. "Take it easy, Madame President. It takes a minute for the Thoresine to where off."

"It feels like a hangover," Laura admitted. "Where am I?"

"Weapons locker. There's food for you on top of that bucket over there," the woman pointed.

"What's your name?" Laura asked.

"Chelsea. I'm supposed to guard you. Gaius said that no one is to hurt you," the woman mentioned.

_Baltar. I should have known he would be behind this_. "May I speak with him?" Laura requested.

"I'm sorry. He's a little busy right now, but I can get your aide," Chelsea remarked.

Laura raised an eyebrow. "Tory's here?"

Chelsea nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

"I'd like to see her then," Laura stated, sitting back down on the bench as the room began to spin.

"Sure," Chelsea responded, dashing out of the room after making certain that the padlock on the door holding Laura was in place.

She returned quickly with the former aide. "Laura, how are you?"

The president eyed her warily. "That's a funny question coming from you."

"Gaius didn't want you to be uncomfortable," Tory added.

Laura could not resist rolling her eyes. "I have a bad headache, I'm nauseous, and I'm locked in a cage. Aside from that I feel terrific."

Her sardonic comment did not faze Tory. "You wanted to see me."

Taking a deep breath, Laura fought back the wave of nausea. She had yet to touch the food, deciding to wait until after Tory had left, in case the food decided to make a second appearance. "Yes. You claim to have found Nikki Tyrol wandering around in the hall. I didn't think to ask before, but what were you doing in that hall?"

_She knows, or she suspects_, Tory thought with a mental gulp. "I was at Joe's bar."

"I know about the Cylon meetings. Someone heard you at one of the meetings. Was it Callie? Is that why she died? To keep your secret?" Laura probed.

Tory glared mercilessly at her former boss. "You don't know anything!"

Laura sighed as Tory stormed out of the room. As Chelsea came back, Laura decided to investigate what the cafeteria had contributed. Algae sandwiches did not look too horrible this time, but after taking three bites, she reached for the bucket that the tray had been sitting on and expelled the contents of her stomach. Baltar chose that moment to enter the room.

He grabbed Chelsea by the shoulders, shaking her slightly. "What have you done? I only wanted you to feed her! We need her alive!"

After setting the bucket and the tray aside, Laura stood, leaning on the diagonal metal wall of the cage. "It wasn't the food. I woke up feeling badly. It was probably the Thoresine."

He had the bucket and tray quickly removed, using a marine to aim a gun at Laura so that she would not escape in the few seconds that the door was open. Then she moved back to the bench, sitting down. "Gaius, what is this all about? And how did you manage to replace my marines?"

"A change in leadership. Switching the marines was easy. All it took was Thoresine and a simple change of uniform for a few of my supporters. Don't worry, they're all alive. The admiral is on his way here to make a trade: Tom Zarek for you," Baltar replied.

Laura shook her head. "You got Adama to agree to that?"

Baltar smiled eerily. "You're a better bargaining chip than you think."

"Why are you working with Zarek? He hates Cylons," Laura pointed out.

"He hates you and the admiral more," Baltar stated.

"What did he do, offer you all the New Caprican weed that the Black Market had to offer?" Laura poked.

Baltar glared at her. "He promised that if I helped him, I would be granted immunity throughout the fleet, so that no matter where I am, no matter how many people detest me, I will be protected," Baltar explained.

She crossed her arms in front of her. "And you believed him?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Though Zarek can be… trying at times, he can be very persuasive," Baltar mentioned.

"You're a fool, Gaius. He'll only stab you in the back like he did the last time," Laura reminded.

Baltar scoffed. "Like you and everyone else?"

"I didn't let you die on that baseship," she pointed out.

"And I won't let you die today, so we're even," he retorted.

Laura rubbed her temples again. "Obviously this discussion is going nowhere. I do have one question for you though," she paused to face him. "Did you sleep with Callie Tyrol?"

For a moment his face went white and he stared at her in shock. Then he recovered. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Just answer the question," Laura continued.

"Once," he muttered. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have more important things to tend to," he said before sauntering out of the room.

While Laura was being kept in the weapons locker, Adama headed to the brig where Zarek was being held. The vice president stood at the admiral entered. "Admiral, what can I do for you today?"

"Shut up. You're coming with me," Adama growled.

"You're just going to airlock me? I thought you didn't stoop to that level," Zarek sneered.

Adama let the guards cuff him. "I don't. Baltar has the president and wants you in exchange."

The guards led Zarek outside of the brig and he, along with the admiral and the guards, began walking through the halls. "I hope you know where we're going," Zarek commented.

"When I agreed to this exchange, Baltar gave me a rendezvous point. We're heading toward one of the storage rooms on the lower decks," the admiral explained. As they kept moving, Zarek did not see D'Anna and a few of the rebel Cylons following.

"I knew you'd agree to it. Of course this won't be the end, you know. You won't be around in a matter of weeks," Zarek stated flippantly.

Adama grabbed one of Zarek's arms in a vice-like grip. "You will not make threats to me on my own ship," he growled quietly. "I see now that you got yourself thrown into _Galactica's_ brig on purpose."

"Very good, Admiral. It was the quickest way to make the hostage plan work," Zarek leered.

"But why team up with Baltar? Isn't your argument that we can't trust the Cylons?" Adama probed.

Zarek chuckled darkly. "Baltar is the slime of the universe, we both know that. I'm only keeping him around because right now he has more mobility than I do. He was able to kidnap her."

"What did you promise him in return for his services?" Adama inquired.

"Immunity anywhere he goes, basically protection in the fleet," Zarek answered.

"A request which you have no intention of actually granting," Adama chimed in.

"That's between me and Baltar," Zarek stated.

They stopped just outside of the door. Adama knocked on it while the guards held Zarek. "Baltar, we have what you want. I'm here to make the trade."

Chelsea opened the door. "Won't you come inside, sir?"

Adama entered with Zarek in tow as he gripped the terrorist's upper arm. D'Anna stood out of sight, moving to a spot next to the doorway. On the far side of the room, Tory stood to the left of Laura, holding a gun to the president's head. Bill's grip on Zarek tightened as he glared at Tory, then at Baltar who stood to the right of Laura. "Just let me go and she goes free," Zarek whispered.

Reluctantly the admiral removed his handcuffs. He walked over to Baltar, but instead of Laura walking back to Bill, Zarek took hold of Laura. "Stop that, I promised she wouldn't be harmed," Baltar scolded the other man.

"I should shoot you myself, but I have far more creative ways of destroying your credibility. Killing you first politically is better than any physical death," Zarek told her, letting her arm go.

She opened her mouth to tell him to go to Hades when D'Anna suddenly entered the room. "I told you not to involve the Cylons," Zarek said to Adama. Then he looked over to the crowd. "Is this the leadership you want? Your leaders allying with your enemies? No matter how enlightened they may seem, they will always be Cylons, and they will always be enemies."

The Cylon leader smirked. "These men have tried to overthrow your legitimate government. The Cylons, to show our desire to work with all of you as allies, have come to retrieve your president as a gesture of good faith."

"Lies. All they ever do is lie. Earth was nothing but a lie," Zarek retorted.

"No. Earth and the planet next to it were markers for somewhere else. We are running recon missions on the healthy planet outside because of Earth," Laura argued.

D'Anna raised the rifle that she had been previously holding straight against her side. "Come on, Gaius. Isn't it time you came back with us?"

Baltar shook his head. "I- I really don't think that's such a good idea-"

"He's not going anywhere with you. He belongs with us," Tory interjected.

The gun fired, striking its target. Tory fell backward onto the floor, dead. "That was for me." Then D'Anna raised the gun, pointing it at Zarek's head. Another bullet hit its target and Zarek fell to the floor, also dead. "And that was for you," she said, speaking to Laura.

"Perhaps I will go with you," Baltar squeaked.

As he made his way down the steps, one of his cult women stood. In her hands she also held a handgun. "You could've had any of us, Gaius. We were willingly yours. Instead you chose Cylons. Only Cylons are good enough for you. Well I'm through with this," she said before firing a bullet aimed at Baltar's heart. Chelsea screamed.

D'Anna gasped, anguish written in her face. As Baltar died, the other cult women descended on the one who had fired like an angry mob. Realizing that she could do nothing for Baltar, D'Anna used the chaos to bring Laura out of the room, to the colonel and the admiral who stood waiting in the hallway. "I didn't want to get in the way of a domestic dispute," D'Anna remarked.

For a brief moment, Laura saw past the sarcasm. "I'm sorry."

The Cylon looked away, muttering quietly, "This wasn't part of the plan."

Tigh used the phone nearby to call Life Station, asking for a medical team in the off chance that Zarek, Tory, or Baltar was not dead.

Looking past Tigh, Laura moved toward Bill. Laura gripped Bill's forearm, leaning into him. Almost as if to catch her, he pulled her into a secure embrace. She grabbed onto his uniform, then slid her arms around his neck. Neither said anything for a few minutes. Then slowly they pulled apart.

He cupped her cheek with his hand. "Laura, are you alright?"

She took a shaky breath. "No, but I will be. Take me home."

While he wrapped an arm around her, she leaned into his side. They had walked for a while before Laura noticed D'Anna. "I'm sorry that you killed one of the Final Five. What are you doing here, by the way?"

"These two," D'Anna nodded toward Tigh and Adama, "asked for my help. As for Tory, she chose her path."

Laura winced, moving a hand from around Bill's waist to rub her temples. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"They used Thoresine to knock me out initially and I'm still getting over the side effects," she explained.

"We'd better get you to Life Station and have Cottle run a blood test to see if there's anything else in your system that doesn't belong there. They might have injected you with something," Bill suggested.

D'Anna stopped walking. "In that case, if you two no longer need me, my sisters and I will return to my ship."

"That's fine. Thank you for your help," the admiral mentioned.

"You're quite welcome. You do realize though that now if I should need a favor, you owe me," the Cylon reminded.

Laura raised an eyebrow. "We will discuss it if and when the need arises."

The team of medics passed them as they walked through the halls. It was then that Laura recognized the marines they had been walking with. "My marines are here! Bill, what happened to them?"

"We found them in the hall near Athena's quarters. They're all fine. Baltar probably used Thoresine on them too," Bill told her.

They passed through the doors of Life Station to see Cottle setting up three beds. "They're probably dead," Bill mentioned. "We saw them shot."

Cottle whipped his head toward the admiral. "You let me be the doctor." Then he spotted Laura. "If they're dead, what are you two doing here? And what the hell is going on out there? All I get is this phone call from Tigh about three people who were shot."

Bill held Laura closer. "Baltar and his group kidnapped the president, wanting to use her as leverage to free Tom Zarek. To make a long story short, Baltar, Zarek, and Tory were all shot. Laura isn't feeling well. They used Thoresine to put her out and I think she should have a blood test to make sure they didn't give her anything else while she was unconscious."

The doctor sighed heavily. "Boy, you sure do make my job complicated, both of you. Sit here. I'll have Ishay get your blood. Now how have you been feeling?"

"I woke up with a bad headache, and then I got sick," she admitted.

Cottle took out a chart and made a couple of notes. "Alright. Now in general, how have you been feeling?"

Laura shrugged. "Tired."

Ishay stopped by to draw Laura's blood as Cottle spoke to the president. "I want you to stay down for the rest of the day. I should have the results of the tests by tomorrow morning."

Laura was dismissed as the three gunshot fatalities were brought in, as well as the cult woman who had been severely beaten. The first three were dead on arrival, but the woman survived. Bill brought Laura back to their quarters. "When is the fleet scheduled to join us?" she asked him.

"In a few hours," he relayed.

She sighed, sinking into the couch. "They'll want me to make a statement about the deaths."

He shook his head. "Let me handle it. I'll tell them when the rest of the fleet jumps."

A small smile sat on her face. "Thank you."

After seeing that she was settled with a cup of tea, he headed back to CIC to finish his shift, and later to make a statement about the recent deaths. "This is Admiral Adama. I address the fleet as well as the civilians, with special attention to the Sagittarians: I regret to inform you on the deaths of Tom Zarek, Gaius Baltar, and Tory Foster. All three were involved in treasonous a scheme to kidnap President Roslin. They were killed as a result of this scheme because they were endangering the president's life. I pass my condolences especially to the Sagittarians. We are sorry for your loss. That is all."

"Lee's gonna have a lot to do at the next Quorum meeting," Saul commented as Bill set the wireless mike down.

"We all will," Bill responded.

That evening Laura and Bill curled up together, letting sleep overtake them. As the curtain of sleep fell over her, Laura dreamed again. _It was the same as before, with the Cylons walking their usual routes, all except Laura. Once again the little girl with auburn hair entered the concert room_. _The others paid no attention to her, all busy with their own lives. In that moment Laura made a decision. She walked over to the girl._

"_Mommy!" The girl exclaimed, seeing Laura. She could see a resemblance, if she went by Bill's theory that the girl was a younger version of her. But then as she knelt down to embrace the girl, she noticed the eyes. They were not green, as hers were. Instead they were cobalt-blue, like Bill Adama's eyes._

(A/N: The idea for another docking bay comes from "The Oath")

(My thanks to kywildcat, carolann, McGonagallFan, and Mamabella for reviewing :D)


	10. International incident

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 10: International incident

The realization of the dream caused her to suddenly sit up in the bed. She glanced at the clock, seeing that in ten minutes she would have to get up anyway. She crawled out of bed, feeling lightheaded when she was standing. Trying to recall what she had eaten last night for dinner did not quell the feeling of nausea that continued to creep over her. She steadied herself at the desk long enough to hear him roll over.

She wandered into the bathroom, flicking on the light. As she removed the headscarf and turned the water on for the shower, she stared at her reflection, as if seeking answers to the many questions that swarmed through her mind. _I can't be pregnant, can I? How in the world am I going to tell Bill about this part of the dream? How is any of this possible?_ Thinking that anything close to a hot shower would worsen the nausea, she used lukewarm water for her shower.

Bill woke to the sound of his alarm. As he turned it off, his eyes scanned the room for Laura. He breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the shower. He called the mess hall for coffee before heading into the bathroom to shave. Laura emerged from the shower, almost bumping into him in her rush to find her toothbrush.

"I'm sorry, Bill. I didn't see you," she stated.

He smiled at her, rinsing off his razor. "That's okay. How are you this morning?"

"A little nauseous, but stable," she remarked.

It was then that he took full notice of her hair. Usually he was the first one up, so he usually saw her with the headscarf or her wig later in the morning. "Laura, your hair..."

She glanced at her reflection. "Yes. Strange how it's coming back so quickly."

"I've ordered coffee. If you start feeling worse, just knock on the shower door," he stated.

Giving him a small smile, she responded. "Thanks, Bill."

He took his shower while she dressed and sat at his desk, looking through the reports. The latest reconnaissance revealed there to be people on the planet. She tried to drink the coffee, but after a few sips the offending drink threatened to make a reappearance. She was resting her head in her hands when Bill emerged from the bathroom. He rested a hand on her shoulder.

She turned to meet his concerned gaze. "I'll be alright. Things just don't seem to be settling down this morning."

"I think you should go back to Life Station. Thoresine doesn't take this long to pass through your system," he reminded.

"I know. It's just that-" the phone rang, interrupting her.

Bill reached for it. "Adama."

"It's Jack."

The clock by Bill read 0645. "Don't you ever sleep?"

Cottle snorted. "Very funny. I know it's not 0700 yet, but I've got the results from the blood tests."

"And?" Bill stated, looking at Laura.

"And the two of you had better get down here," the doctor ordered.

Bill hung up the phone and faced Laura. "That was Jack. He's got the results and he wants us down there."

"Then by all means, let's go," Laura added.

As soon as they passed through the doors of Life Station, Cottle walked over to them. "My office," was all he said. He held the office door open, allowing Bill and Laura to sit down. "I'll be right back. I have to see to a patient and make sure he doesn't have a broken collar bone."

Cottle closed the door behind him, leaving Laura and Bill to themselves. She placed her hands in her lap, folding and unfolding her fingers. "We didn't talk much yesterday," she began.

He studied her with concern. "What else do you want to tell me?"

"I spoke with Baltar and Tory before you brought Zarek," she paused, facing him. "You were right about Baltar. I asked him if he slept with Callie. He said 'once.' And Tory, I was very direct, asking her about Callie's death. She got angry and stormed out. I think it's very possible that she killed Callie," Laura mentioned.

"If that's true, then we've solved at least one problem," Bill concluded.

Laura rested her hands in her lap, studying them. Then she looked over at Bill. "Are you going to tell him?"

Bill sighed heavily. "I don't know. He took her suicide badly. I don't know if he'll take her murder any better."

"If he learns the truth, perhaps he won't think that she killed herself because of him," Laura mentioned.

The door opened and Cottle entered. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Kid dislocated his shoulder playing a new form of pyramids. I've got your charts here."

"Have they poisoned me? Is that what this is about?" Laura questioned, pensively looking at the charts.

Cottle picked up a chart from his desk. "I wish it was that simple. How are you feeling this morning?"

"Nauseous, green," Laura answered.

The doctor sighed, looking from Laura to Bill. "Here's the problem: what I've got on this chart should be impossible. What I'm quickly learning from you, Laura, is that nothing these days is impossible. There is no easy way to tell you this. You're pregnant."

She stared at Cottle, wide-eyed. "How- well I don't exactly mean how, but what…"

"We know that your body rebooted back to a healthier state. We just didn't realize how far," Cottle mentioned. "The nausea you've been experiencing isn't from the Thoresine. It's most likely morning sickness."

Laura closed her eyes, unsure how to process what she had just been told. Her hand sought out Bill's. He grasped her hand and looked back at Cottle. "What are our options?"

Cottle set the chart back on his desk. "That's where it gets tricky. I know abortion is illegal at the moment, but under the circumstances, I did consider recommending it."

Bill raised an eyebrow. "But you're not now?"

"Frankly her physiology has changed and performing a procedure like that would have unknown consequences. I don't want to risk her health if I don't have to. At the moment it would be less of a risk for her to carry the baby to term," Cottle advised.

Laura looked up at him. "There's only one problem with that. Anyone who knows anything about Diloxin knows that it destroys the body's reproductive capabilities. If the people find out that I'm pregnant, they'll know what else I am."

"Which brings me right back to the first conclusion I came to when I saw the outcome of the blood tests: we have a problem," Cottle mentioned.

Laura had another question for the doctor. Slowly removing her wig, she revealed her own hair. "Why is my hair coming back so quickly?"

Cottle blinked, feeling her hair. "I think I can explain it, at least partly. First of all, unlike the other Cylons, your physiology was subject to human rules until recently. The hair growth might be a sort of regeneration. Secondly, it's nature that when a woman's pregnant, her hair grows more. Probably because of the other changes with you, it's just happening faster. Looks like you'll have two years' worth of hair growth by the end of the month."

"That means I'm going to be hiding my hair under my shirt collars for a while," she concluded.

As the phone rang, he stepped out of his office to answer it. "Hello? What? Just a minute." Abruptly he ducked back into the office. "Admiral, it's for you."

Adama stood, taking the receiver. "Adama."

"It's Starbuck, sir. I made it to the hanger. We've got a problem. Some people on that planet saw us. They had all five of us, but they let me go so I could tell you that they're detaining our people for questions," Kara relayed.

"Frak," Bill exclaimed.

Laura walked over to him. "What happened?"

"The people on that planet are holding the team for questions," he told her.

"What do they want?" Laura asked.

He turned back to the receiver. "What else did they say?"

"They want to meet with my leaders, face-to-face, on the surface," Kara answered.

"Starbuck, meet me at my quarters," he stated.

"Aye, sir," she responded before ending the conversation.

He looked back to Laura. When words failed him for a moment, she placed a hand on his shoulder. "You and I will finish our conversation later. Right now I'm going to give Lee a call so that he can join us as Kara explains what's going on."

He simply smiling, he kissed her forehead. "Good idea."

She called _Colonial One_, locating Lee. Soon all four of them were seated in the admiral's quarters. "Kara, what's this all about? Who did you find?" Lee probed.

"A bunch of humans. The ones who kidnapped us actually speak our language. The planet's full of settlements, but it's surprisingly low-tech," Kara began.

"Is that why they want to meet face-to-face?" Laura inquired.

The blonde woman nodded. "They have radios, but they're really limited to short-range communication."

"What exactly happened down there?" Bill questioned.

"The five of us were checking out a structure that looked like one of the few pieces of technology on the planet. With the exception of the hospitals, they use less technology than we do. What we found looked the part of a ship, but somebody converted it into a weather shield. It protects the settlement from extreme weather conditions," she mentioned.

"I think they want to know how and why you got caught," Lee interjected.

Kara crossed her arms in front of her. "I was getting to that. Anyway, we were looking at the structure when a group of guys came out of a building. They were wearing black uniforms and we think they were the local police. They started asking us all these questions. While they were talking to us, one of them found our Raptor. They got pretty ticked when they realized we weren't from their planet. They dragged us over to this warehouse and then brought some government official to look at us. I don't think they want to hurt us. They just don't know what to make of us."

Adama processed Kara's words thoughtfully as a plan formed in his mind. Then he faced Laura. "It would be safer if I go down there representing the military and Lee comes with me to represent the government. That way you're safe up here."

She opened her mouth to protest, but then sat back against the couch. "You're right. But I'd still like to know what's going on down there. Contact me when you can."

"So we have a go, sir?" Kara asked.

Bill nodded. "Yes, we have a go."

(My thanks to McGonagallFan, kywildcat, and carolann for reviewing :D)


	11. Trouble in Paradise

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 11: Trouble in Paradise

Premiere Tiberius Blackwell regarded his new guests with a cautious eye. His second walked them into the room. The older man before him wore a stoic gaze that Tiberius himself could not see through. The younger smiled optimistically, but nervously. They were led to chairs in front of the premiere's conference table. Tiberius for all his confidence allowed himself to believe in luck. For him the table was lucky. It had been one of the first tables made from recycling the shrubs on the planet. A new process for making furniture had begun when they had exhausted the metal from their ships.

His second took a chair next to the older man. Tiberius had trusted him with his life on more than one occasion. With a tan and a descent physique that caused him to look as though he actually ventured outside of the building, he contrasted Tiberius. The premiere folded his smooth, ghostly white hands in front of him after making sure that his obsidian hair was not sticking out at odd angles.

The other man cleared his throat. "Shall we begin, Premiere Blackwell?"

He nodded. "By all means. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Premiere Tiberius Blackwell. This man here," he paused to gesture toward his second, "is Senior Chairman, Octavio Reynolds."

The man in the uniform spoke. "I am Admiral William Adama, of the Battlestar _Galactica_ and the Colonial Fleet."

"And I'm Acting-Vice President Lee Adama," the younger man mentioned.

"I see nepotism survives," Tiberius remarked.

"Not exactly. Our president could not join us because she's recovering from an illness," Lee explained.

Tiberius fingered a pen at his desk. "Despite our abhorrence of some technology, our hospitals would be more than adequate for whatever she might have." Then he slammed the pen down on the desk. "But you probably already know that because you've been spying on us!"

Lee attempted to quell the premiere's tempter. "We meant no harm-"

"Let's cut to the chase, shall we?" Tiberius interrupted. "Your people invaded our world, and then you spied on us. I should declare you both planetary threats and have you shot, but I'm going to give you a chance to answer. And gentlemen, be brief, but concise."

Adama decided to speak. "You're right, and I apologize for our audacity in this matter. Our people are searching for a new home. Before we contacted your people, we wanted to find out if you were hostile or not. That's why we sent out recon missions. We're sorry for trespassing."

Tiberius looked over to Octavio. The other man shrugged. The premiere sighed heavily, turning back to his guests. "Who are your people?"

"We're the last of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol," Lee replied.

"Why do you know our Greek language?" Octavio drilled. "On this part of the planet we are what were once the Western people. We've gone back to our roots, only using four ancient languages: Hebrew, Latin, Greek, and Gaelic."

Adama rested his hands on his knees. "We could ask you the same thing. All of our people speak this language."

"Why are you in this part of space?" Tiberius questioned.

"Our homeworlds were destroyed, so we set out in search of the Thirteenth Tribe, a group that had separated from us thousands of years ago to find Earth," Adama mentioned.

Octavio stood behind Adama and Lee, frowning and shaking his head, giving Tiberius the 'this sounds like a bunch of crap' signal. "I don't know if I can believe that. However, I think the better question is how did you find this world, and did you find Earth?" Tiberius inquired.

"It's complicated as to how we found Earth, but we did. We found it nuked. Then we examined the next planet out and found a base. We got the coordinates for this world from there," Adama answered.

The old technology had returned once again to threaten their existence. Tiberius seethed, clenching his fists. After a moment he flattened his hands and spoke again. "Earth was destroyed by a war with the greater powers of the world. The people left after the carnage broke off into two groups. One group depended on technology and stayed on Earth in hopes of restoring it. The other group set off for another planet. They stopped on Mars temporarily to find out if it could be made habitable. Obviously the answer was no, so here we are."

"Why the aversion to technology?" Lee inquired.

Tiberius glared at him. "Did you not hear what I just said? Technology nearly wiped out humanity, or at least what we considered to be humanity until your people showed up. We live simple lives here. The only technology we use is in our hospitals, as well as basic electricity and minimal communications."

"If I may be blunt, Mr. Premiere, I'd like to know what I have to do to get my people back that you've insisted on holding hostage," Adama questioned.

The premiere stood, walking closer to the other two. "I never could trust a situation in which family got involved with politics. To be perfectly frank, I don't trust either one of you. I want to meet the top of the order."

"I am the fleet admiral," Adama insisted.

"I want to speak with the president, not the second-hand man appointed by his father," Tiberius insisted.

Adama sighed heavily. "Fine. I'll speak with her."

He and Lee were permitted to return to their Raptor. As soon as he was inside, Adama contacted the president. "What's going on down there, Bill?"

"The man's frakking around with us. He insists that he'll only speak to you," Bill complained.

"Then I'll just have to go down there," Roslin stated.

"But it could-" he attempted to dissuade her.

"Lives are at stake here, Admiral. I'm coming down," she told him.

Half an hour later, the admiral presented Laura to Tiberius. "This is our president, Laura Roslin."

Tiberius nodded respectfully and shook her hand. "It's good to meet you, Madame President. I am Premiere Tiberius Blackwell."

She recognized the political tactic of being polite. "You as well, Premiere Blackwell."

The man then turned toward the others. "You may leave us for a while."

Bill touched Laura's upper arm and whispered, "I don't think you should trust him."

She turned back to him, also whispering. "It might be the only way to do this. I'll be fine. I'll scream really loudly if I'm not."

"That's supposed to make me feel better?" he asked.

"No. I just don't think he's going to try anything," she responded.

He let her go reluctantly. "Be careful."

As Adama and Lee left the room, Laura turned back to the premiere. "The admiral is protective of me. I am recovering from an illness and he worries that this negotiation might wear me out."

Tiberius walked over to the table and pulled a chair out for her, allowing her to sit before he pushed the chair back in. "I wouldn't dream of wasting your time like that. We'll keep it strictly business."

Laura folded her hands on the table as he took his seat across from her. "I understand your position as leader. You have your people to think of, and you're willing to do anything to protect them. If our positions were reversed, I'd be just as suspicious as you are."

Perhaps she did understand his position. In contrast to his views on the other two people he had met, Tiberius found that there was something about Laura Roslin that he genuinely liked. "I'm glad you see my reasoning."

"Now, what do we need to do in order to get our people back?" Laura tossed at him.

He smirked. "You don't beat around the bush, do you?"

"I find that a direct approach is sometimes best," she replied.

"Fair enough. I want a signed paper from you, and the admiral, and the acting vice-president that your people will not harm us in any way, or destroy our planet," he told her.

She nodded. "Done." Then she stood. He walked her to the door. Before he could open it though, she turned back to him. "I hope our acquaintance doesn't end here."

He raised an eyebrow. "Madame President, with all due respect, I don't want to deal with your people any further."

Folding her hands in front of her, she met his gaze. "As you have to look after your people, I have to look after mine. There are over 39,000 of us, all that remains of the Twelve Tribes of Kobol. We can't live on our ships indefinitely. They're already falling apart. We set out to look for a new home, and possibly other humans."

"I am sorry for your situation, but I don't see how you could stay here," he expressed.

Deciding to try again, she walked back over to his table. "Our people would only need land. We could hold our own, grow our own food-"

"No," he replied.

She sighed resolutely, placing her hands on the table before turning around to face him. "Perhaps there's something we can trade, something we can do for your people to earn our keep."

He paused in thought for a while, then grinned broadly. "I like you, Roslin. We've had technology controlling the weather here on the planet to make it habitable. Over the last two months, we've noticed weather fluctuations. We'd fix it ourselves, but so many of us have lived simply for so long that we don't know how to use the technology. If your people can fix the control system, along with some of our other technology, you may stay."

Laura smiled back and the two shook hands. "Thank you, Mr. Premiere." Then she turned back to the door.

"By the way, you're welcome to use our medical facilities while you're here," he added.

The president smiled politely. "Thank you. That's very generous of you."

Tiberius shook his head. "It's not generosity: it's prudence. An exchange of medical knowledge would benefit both sides. And I will not have a new group of sick people infecting my planet."

"Ah, a true pragmatist," Laura remarked.

He smirked as he opened the door. "No, a true politician."

She left the premiere, heading back to Bill and Lee. "Laura, are you-"

"I'm fine, Bill. Premiere Blackwell and I had a reasonable discussion. All you, Lee, and I have to do is sign a paper saying that we won't harm his people and we can have our people back. He'll also let our civilization stay here if we agree to fix some of their technology," she explained.

Bill raised an eyebrow. "I thought he didn't have technology except for the hospitals."

"He mentioned something about a weather control system that they don't know how to operate. Apparently their ancestors programmed it, but the current people here didn't take the time to learn it for themselves."

"I wish we didn't have to deal with him," Bill grumbled. "What I'd like to know is how you ended up having a reasonable discussion with him."

Laura rested a hand on his shoulder. "He's a politician. He just needed another politician to talk to. You are military and unfortunately not the most diplomatic. Lee comes from a military background and hasn't yet learned some of the subtleties of politics."

"I still don't like it, but if it's the only way, then we might as well work with him," Bill acquiesced.

The admiral and the president signed what the premiere required. Then he released the recon team to them. Wanting to better relations between the people, Bill sent Cottle down on a mission of medical exchange.

Four days later Cottle entered the office building that Kara had directed him to. On the first floor of the three-story building, he spotted a woman who appeared to be in charge sitting at a desk. She bent over reports, writing furiously. He cleared his throat and received no acknowledgment. Finally on his third attempt she growled, "What?" still without looking up.

Cottle placed his hands on the desk to get her attention. "I am the Chief Medical Officer from the _Galactica_."

She looked up at him, his glare having no affect on her as she raised an eyebrow, her bright green eyes studying him carefully. "Name?"

"Major Jack Cottle," he said evenly.

Folding her hands together on the desk in front of her, she told him, "I need to your identification papers."

His eyes widened as he stared at her. "What! In all my years as a doctor, I've never been asked for my ID like this!"

She sighed before standing. "Since that ship showed up four days ago, I've had three different people coming to me, claiming to be _Galactica's_ CMO, all with different names, in order to steal medicine."

Her jaw set tight, he could see that she was serious. Curly copper hair with a few gray streaks mixed in was held at bay in a ponytail. _By the dark circles under her eyes, I'd say she's had a long week_. "Would a word from Admiral Adama help?" Cottle acquiesced.

"Yes," she conceded.

He pulled out a two-way radio. "Cottle to _Galactica_."

"Galactica Actual here. What do you need, Major?" the admiral asked.

"Their CMO wants verification on who I am because there have been some imposters since we arrived," Cottle relayed.

"Let me talk to her," Adama stated.

Cottle passed the radio to her as the admiral spoke again. "Now, Doctor …"

"Morgana Sorenson."

"Dr. Sorenson, I assure you that Dr. Cottle is legitimate. He is there to compare your medicine to ours, not to take anything from you. Is that acceptable?" Adama mentioned.

She spoke, looking at Cottle. "Yes, Admiral. That would be fine. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding."

Handing the radio back to Cottle, she sank down into her chair. "You know, it's okay to be wrong once in a while," Cottle told her.

"It's not that. Despite our lack of technology on this planet, we do use telephones and televisions. When I was a little girl, I was left alone at my uncle's house when he and my aunt had to get something from the store. I remember the noise the rain made, like a hundred people marching. Anyway, I heard a horrible noise at the front door later on in the evening. My uncle had forgotten his house key and, thinking that I had gone to bed instead of staying up to watch television, he was trying to jimmy his own lock," Sorenson explained.

Cottle cleared his throat. "You're going somewhere with this, aren't you?"

She smirked. "Of course I am. I heard the noise from the door and naturally thought someone was breaking into the house. I screamed and called the police. They arrived just after my uncle got the door open. Needless to say, I was in trouble up to my ears. My point is that your admiral made me feel like a little girl again. I assume he can be rather intimidating at times."

The doctor nodded. "That's putting it mildly." He pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, offering it to her. "You look like you could lose one."

She snorted. "A doctor offering me nicotine. That's one for the books."

"Everybody has their habits," he stated, setting the pack between them on the desk.

Staring at the pack, she lifted a cigarette out. "Yes, and a particularly nasty habit this is." She twirled it between her fingers. "I mean it smells terrible, turns your teeth yellow," she raised it to her nose, "not to mention the numerous health problems these things cause."

"You want a light?" he asked.

Immediately she slammed the cigarette down on her desk. "No! Dammit, you almost made me fall off the wagon!"

He raised an eyebrow. "What wagon?"

Putting the cigarette back into the pack, she pushed it as far away from her as possible. "When you conquer a habit, but then you start the habit again, they call that falling off the wagon. I quit ten years ago, and I have no intention of staring again today!"

"Sorry," he responded, taking the cigarette that he was planning on smoking and putting it back into the pack. Then he stuck the pack in his coat pocket, out of sight.

"No, I'm sorry. I have had an awful week, and I took it out on you," she mentioned.

He shrugged. "Everyone's entitled to a bad week now and then. I'd recommend a cup of tea and a good night's rest."

"Can said cup of tea include gin?" she asked with a grin.

He raised an eyebrow. "What's gin?"

"Alcohol," she replied.

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Boy, you're just full of bad habits."

She laughed heartily. "Perhaps I could do with a good night's sleep."

"And I'll get back to the reason I stopped by," Cottle commented as he stood.

"Allow me to assist you," she offered.

They spent the rest of the day comparing inventories and notes. "I should be heading back to _Galactica_. Thanks for your help," Cottle told her.

She smiled politely as she walked him to the main door. "You're welcome. Good day, Dr. Cottle."

"Good day, Dr. Sorenson," he told her as he left the office.

(My thanks to carolann for reviewing :D)


	12. Mommy dearest

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel. The term 'Terrans' comes from Stargate SG1. The idea for the weather technology comes from Star Trek.

Chapter 12: Mommy dearest

It had been over a weak since the admiral and the president had met one of the leaders of the new planet. It was called Terra Prime and the people living there called themselves Terrans. The fleet had sent surveying teams down to plan out where they would live. While Bill had been busy looking over recon reports on the soil and the building materials they could use, Laura had meetings with city planning comities.

After the latest meeting, Laura flew back to _Galactica_ for the first time in a week, having spent most of her time on Colonial One. As the Raptor door opened, she was hoping to see Bill. Instead she found Dee. The young woman noticed the suddenly distraught expression that Laura had failed to conceal.

"Madame President, is something wrong?" she asked as Laura left the Raptor.

"No. I had hoped that the admiral would be meeting me though," Laura responded.

They headed down the hallway. "He would have, but D'Anna called. The Cylons want to know when they can settle on the planet too."

"Let's go to CIC then. I'd like to hear this one," the president stated.

By the time they reached CIC, the Cylons had ended the transmission. Bill turned and smiled at Laura. "Madame President."

"Admiral. I hear the Cylons want to settle," she began.

He snorted. "You just missed it. D'Anna is trying to call in that favor."

"I'm not surprised. What did you tell her?" Laura inquired, stepping closer to him.

"I said that we're still in the middle of negotiations with the planet's government and told her to give us more time. She didn't like it, but she agreed," Bill relayed.

"I just hope she doesn't try to go down and negotiate with Blackwell herself. I can't imagine that people who run from technology as much as he does will be too friendly toward Cylons," Laura mentioned.

Later they headed to their quarters. Both breathed sighs of relief as he shut the hatch behind them. Finally away from the world, he drew her into his arms, holding her securely. She hugged him back, basking in the comfort of his arms. As he pulled back to smile at her, she kissed him tenderly.

"It's been a long week," she remarked.

"Yes. But you're home now, and that's what matters," he said before kissing her soundly.

When the kiss ended, she gave him a pensive look. "There's a discussion that you and I need to finish."

He nodded. "Let's get dinner together first."

They headed toward the kitchen in search of something edible. They had enough ingredients to make algae dough, so Bill elected to make algae crisps while Laura made the dipping sauce. After adding a few spices to the sauce, she turned to face him. "Bill, what are we going to do about the baby?"

Taking a contemplative breath, he faced her. "I agree with Cottle that if we do much, the procedure might hurt you."

"Though it's more than a surprise, I don't mind keeping the baby. The bigger issue is going to be the fleet," she reminded, stirring the sauce.

He placed the rolled algae dough on a cookie sheet, then put the sheet in the oven. "They don't have to find out. You could limit public appearances."

"Easier said than done. If it's not the Quorum, Premiere Blackwell prefers to deal with me instead of you or Lee," she told him.

The hair on the back of Bill's neck bristled at the mentioning of the premiere. "That man is going to be nothing but trouble. I can feel it. The sooner you're not the one dealing with him, the better."

"It's a nice thought, but it doesn't solve the problem. The only solution I could see is resigning. We can't keep telling people I'm sick anymore. I'll just have to let them know that the cancer has gone into remission," she suggested.

"We'll figure something out," he concluded.

When the food was finished cooking, they sat on the couch to eat. Laura dunked one of the algae crisps into the sauce. "Not bad. We managed to have it not taste like algae."

He snorted. "It could be better, but at least I can eat it."

They ate in silence for a while before Laura's worrying got the better of her. "Bill, we still have a problem. If I just resign, it'll be the only news anyone thinks about."

"Then we need a diversion so that the people look the other way," he remarked.

She set her plate on the coffee table after finishing dinner. "What kind of diversion would be big enough?"

As his plate joined hers, a smile crossed his face. The solution was far simpler than he had imagined. Looking back to her, he took one of her hands in his, stroking the back of it. "What about a wedding?"

She thought for a moment. "It might work, but whose wedding would be that big?"

He chuckled lightly. "I guess I need to rephrase that. Laura Roslin, will you marry me?"

Staring at him wide-eyed, she opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. After a second attempt she found her voice. "Bill, that's not a diversion; that's insanity."

In that moment, he had a plan. "Actually it might just work. If you say you're resigning because you're marrying me in order to eliminate the conflict of interest…"

A smile spread over her face, her eyes lighting up. "That's the best idea I've heard since we found Earth."

He reached for her other hand. "Then what do you say?"

Her eyes misted as she nodded her head. "Yes. Bill Adama, I will marry you," she whispered.

Leaning closer, he kissed her soundly. Her hands left his, moving to encircle his neck. Then she kissed him passionately. As they parted for air, he had one last thing to say. "We'll have to tell Lee soon. And he'll need to know everything."

"I suppose," she responded. As they moved to put the dishes in the sink, she suddenly giggled.

He raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I was just picturing Lee's face when we tell him not one bit of news, but three," she answered.

Bill groaned. "That means he's going to find out that we've been doing more than just sharing quarters."

Laura looped her arms around his neck. "I'm sure he already suspects. But I think we've talked about Lee enough for the night, don't you?"

Before Bill could answer, Laura had kissed him deeply, dragging him back toward the rack. He soon forgot to worry about the next day's conversation.

Bill and Laura called Lee over to talk after they had eaten breakfast. Lee entered the quarters and sat in the chair with his cup of coffee while the admiral and the president sat on the couch. She had folded her hands in her lap and the two of them continued to exchange glances.

"How are you, Lee?" Laura inquired.

Lee raised an eyebrow. "Fine, I guess. Dee and I are back together. We've decided to give it another go."

"That's good," Bill remarked.

"Alright, what's up? Why am I here?" Lee probed.

Laura licked her lips, but speech had momentarily eluded her. She glanced back at Bill, who picked up the conversation. "We have something to tell you."

"You're getting married," Lee blurted out, not appearing surprised at all.

The other two stared at him wide-eyed. "How did you know?" Laura inquired.

"I saw you two before we found Earth. I'm not surprised. You're going to get some complaints from the fleet, but given how close the two of you have been for the past few weeks, it's really no surprise to anyone," Lee pointed out.

Laura shook her head and smirked. "And all this time I thought we had been so clever."

"Congratulations," Lee offered.

"I'm afraid there's a bit more to it than that, son," Bill began.

Lee looked from one to the other, raising an eyebrow. _They can't possibly mean… can they?_

Laura took a deep breath, facing Lee. "I'm pregnant."

_Oh frak. Oh frak_. _Awkward at the very least_. Lee blinked a few times. "Congratulations again then," he managed.

"And it gets worse. I'm pregnant because I'm a Cylon. I'm the last of the Final Five," she relayed.

_This just brought 'awkward' to a whole new level_. "Are you sure?" were the only words that escaped Lee's mouth.

"When I got sick down on the planet, right before that I saw a bright flash. Something on that planet must've been triggered the programming. What I threw up were mostly cancer cells. My body somehow purged itself of the cancer, and its affects. That's why I'm pregnant," Laura explained.

"What do you want from me?" Lee inquired.

Bill spoke. "We want you to be president. Laura will resign, insisting that she wants to marry me without the conflict of interest, or at least less of one. She can also use the excuse that she is recuperating from her cancer. Because we are the president and the admiral, the wedding will be a big enough diversion by itself not to have people probing too deeply into other reasons for her resignation."

Lee rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I don't see what you two are so worried about. Colonel Tigh was found to be a Cylon."

"Colonel Tigh wasn't leading anybody. I was," Laura answered.

Bill took one of Laura's hands in his. "If the people find out that they've been led by a Cylon, they might try to kill her. That's why they can't find out about the pregnancy. Do you understand now?"

Lee nodded. "Yes, sir. I'll do whatever you need me to do."

After the discussion with Lee, Laura left _Galactica_ to speak with Tiberius. He greeted her with a smile and his customary handshake. "I must say, Madame President, that I hadn't expected to see you so soon."

"I have a matter of importance to discuss with you," she told him formally.

He led her to his office, then gave her a chair. "Are your people having problems with our technology?"

She shook her head as he took a seat. "No. That part's going well. Actually I'm here on a personal matter."

He studied her, but her face gave nothing away. "Something serious?"

"I'm afraid it is. I'm resigning," she admitted.

His professionalism slipped as his jaw fell open. But then he recovered himself. "You can't resign. I refuse to deal with anyone else!"

_I feel like I'm dealing with a spoiled kindergartner_, she mused. "Premiere Blackwell, though I am better, certain health complications prevent me from continuing to serve as president."

"Then you're coming with me to see one of our best physicians," he insisted as he took hold of her arm, nearly pulling her from the chair.

Seeing as she did not have much choice, she let him lead her down the desert-like path to the main hospital facility. They passed through the doors, seeing a woman with graying copper hair working a t a desk. Tiberius spoke to Laura. "This is Dr. Morgana Sorenson. She likes to keep her desk on the first floor to see if any emergencies come in. She's very particular about seeing to the more critical cases herself."

Morgana, at hearing her name mentioned, walked over to her new guests. "Premiere Blackwell, how can I assist you today?"

He looked back to Laura. "This is President Laura Roslin, of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. Please see to her health concerns," he told the Dr.

"I'll return to Galactica after this appointment," Laura told him, He nodded gracefully before leaving them. She figured that despite the people's discomfort of technology, if they scanned her, they would not know what she was because they were not specifically looking for it.

Sorenson led her through a door to her left. Upon entering, she noticed a white bed-like structure with a mechanical arm hanging over it, holding a screen of sorts. "I know this must look totally bazaar to you. It's a scanning devise. You lie down and this screen scans your body. I see the information on that screen over there," Morgana explained, pointing to a pedestal. "Now what seems to be the problem?"

"I… need my immune system checked to see that it's recovering from my bout with cancer," Roslin explained.

"A full-body scan will be a good start then," Sorenson stated. Laura lied down on the table-bed as Sorenson set up the devise to pass over her. "You shouldn't feel a thing."

As the scan began, Laura had a few questions for the doctor. "Does Premiere Blackwell run your whole planet, or just this continent?"

Sorenson walked over to her pedestal. "Right now he runs the planet. Every eight years the people on the continents pick a new premiere to govern their particular continents. However, one of those leaders will rule the planet. It's part of an eight-year cycle also."

"I assume that Blackwell isn't near the end of his?" Roslin asked.

"He has another five years," Sorenson admitted.

"I've been told that the people living on this continent were an amalgamation of the 'Western World.' Is the rest of the planet like this?"

"Goodness no. The continent that we are on is called New Plymouth. It is home to survivors from what we called Western Europe, North and South America, and Australia. I can show you a map." Sorenson walked back to a drawer and rummaged through it before pulling out a rolled paper.

She unrolled it and walked it over to Laura. "As you can see from this, the Southern continent is New Beijing, where survivors from what we called Asia including India, and several islands went to. They speak a great many languages that are different from ours. The continent over there is New Zaire where the refugees from the old continent of Africa went. Lastly, the fourth continent, New Odessa, is home to the refugees from Eastern Europe."

"I would think that such a disaster as a nuclear war would help to unify people, but your people still sound fragmented," Laura pointed out.

Sorenson folded her hands. "One would hope, but they remain fragmented because of linguistics."

A realization occurred to Laura. "Just how many of your people survived? It seems that you have more people than I'd realized."

"We were a world of eight billion. In some ways we were fortunate that the building materials used were mixed with radiation-resistant materials in order to improve the structural integrity. About nine hundred thousand of us survived, and three fourths of them came to this world. Also at the time we were a space-bound people. It was only when we settled this planet that we gave up space travel," Sorenson explained.

"Are the other continents as… devoid of technology?"

"Everything around here is what you might call a bit backward, but this place is a bit more so." She glanced down at her screen, then back to Roslin a few times, furrowing her brow. "I never thought I'd see one alive," the doctor whispered. Laura was about to ask her if something was wrong when she spoke. "You know you're pregnant, right?"

Laura sat up, smiling slightly. "Yes."

"I can give you some prenatal vitamins if you would like," Sorenson responded.

"Thank you," Laura added.

Sorenson walked over to a shelf and handed a bottle to her. "I took a look at your immune system. Not only is it in good shape, your body shows no evidence of ever having had cancer. Now either your Dr. Cottle has a miracle cure, or there's more to this story than meets the eye."

Laura stood. "Thank you, Dr. Sorenson. I don't believe I need anything else."

The doctor moved in front of the door. "There is something that you need to know. Our scanning device has the ability to scan bone density, and the density of other material. You're not exactly human."

"I know. I'm a Cylon. I found this out recently," she explained.

Sorenson took a deep breath. "We called them organic Cyborgs. Most people don't know about them, or remember them. I do because the information on them is stored in medical files passed down from doctor to doctor."

"Does the premiere know about them?" Laura questioned.

The doctor shook her head. "No, and I promise that no one will find out from me. I plan to wipe out the memory of your visit here for my computer. If Blackwell finds out, you could be in danger. He hates technology."

A knock at the door ended their conversation. Sorenson opened it to find Cottle. "What are you doing here?"

He snorted. "Is that any way to greet the guy who's decided to share the nutritious properties of algae with you? It took me four hours to get a report together."

"She should've thrown you back out. You know how bad all of that stuff tastes," Laura teased Cottle.

"Very funny. I'm surprised to see you here though. Cheating on me with another doctor?" he retorted.

Laura laughed. "The premiere dragged me in for an examination. Neither one of us had much choice."

Cottle entered and shut the door behind him, turning to face Sorenson. "I hope you realize the need for secrecy then."

"Of course. I was just telling that to the president," Sorenson answered.

"And you have files somewhere on these organic Cyborgs?" Laura reminded.

Sorenson nodded. "It might take me a while to find them though."

Cottle glanced at the filing cabinets by the desk in the exam room. They were so stuffed that the drawers would not close. "Good luck finding anything in there."

The other doctor followed his gaze and sighed. "That's what I get for spring-cleaning. It was supposed to be a temporary situation when my other file cabinets were confiscated for government use. Fortunately what I need is not in that mess."

"I should be going. Is there anything else?" Laura inquired.

"No. As far as I can tell, you're healthy," Sorenson told her. Then she turned to Cottle. "I am supposed to bring you a few samples of our vaccines. I can bring the files with me tomorrow along with the vaccines when I drop by your… hospital unit."

"We call it 'Life Station,' and that would be fine," he replied.

(My thanks to WonderfallsonDaisies and carolann for reviewing :D)


	13. Of cyborgs and men

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel. This is Cottle and Sorenson's chapter for the most part.

Chapter 13: Of Cyborgs and men

If anyone had told Morgana Sorenson a month ago that she would willingly board a strange ship and fly out into space, she would have laughed in their faces. She held a small green travel bag with the vaccines she had promised in one hand and a bulky square bag that resembled a camera bag looped over one shoulder. Helo landed the Raptor and opened the door.

"Ma'am, the admiral wanted me to pick you up," he mentioned.

Morgana took a deep breath. "Fine. Let's go then."

As she entered, Helo pointed to the seatbelts. "You'll want to fasten yourself in."

She watched her world grow smaller as they took off and pierced the atmosphere. She could not withhold the gasp as she beheld the fleet. Everything felt massive to her. "Are these your ships?"

"Not mine in particular, ma'am. You're looking at the fleet," he answered.

After the Raptor docked, the door opened to reveal a young woman with her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. She smiled politely at the doctor. "You must be Dr. Sorenson. I'm Lieutenant Dualla. Most people call me 'Dee.'"

Morgana nodded. "I assume you'll be taking me to Life Station?"

The younger woman smirked. "I wouldn't put it that way. I'll be escorting you to Life Station."

"Of course. Please lead the way," Morgana responded with a small smile.

As they walked along the metallic hallways, Morgana observed the gray-brown and gray-blue metals, wondering if they were made of elements on the Periodic Table, or if more needed to be added to the Table. As they passed people doing everything from sitting down to eat, to smoking, to rushing by on some sort of errand, to a group of marines in a training exercise, Morgana began to realize just how many people that this other fleet needed help with.

Dee paused just outside the double doors. "Well, this is my stop."

"Thank you, Lieutenant. I would've gotten lost if I had to find this place on my own. The ship is bigger than I had expected," Morgana stated.

"You're welcome, ma'am," Dee replied as sauntered off down one of the hallways to Morgana could only guess where.

She pushed a door open and stepped inside. Instantly she found herself staring in a mixture of amazement and apprehension as the staff rushed around Life Station. The staff only consisted of one or two nurses and Cottle himself, tending to at least twenty serious cases. Morgana walked over to him as he stopped by a counter to look for medication.

"Busy day?" she asked.

"Normal day," he replied.

Lightly resting a hand on his arm, she spoke. "No. A normal day is when you get twenty patients and half of them have colds. So far I haven't seen anything less than a compound fracture up here, and I haven't been in this room for more than twenty minutes."

"It's life right now, and we deal with it as best we can," he commented, pulling a drawer out. He found a pill bottle in the next drawer.

She shook her head, sighing. "You are ridiculously understaffed. I will look into the matter and see if I can give you some of my people. And as for medication, I will give you whatever you need."

He raised an eyebrow. "That sounds an awful lot like charity."

"Think of it as a medical alliance," she retaliated.

Cottle glanced over his shoulder at the medical zoo behind him. "Look, if you really want a 'medical alliance,' you can start by dropping your bags off in my office over there," he paused to point, "and picking up a scalpel. After I get these pills to one of my nurses, I could really use someone to help me with what looks like a multiple fracture fall that they just wheeled in."

She grabbed a scalpel off the table next to the rolling storage unit that he had just searched. "Then let's get started."

Four hours, two titanium spinal plates, a new knee-cap, a broken leg, and a cracked collarbone later, Morgana and Cottle washed up and met in his office. "I know it wasn't what you intended to do today, but thank you," he told her, closing the door behind her.

She picked up the smaller bag she had brought. "I really would like to send you volunteers. I'm not implying that you personally cannot do your job; I'm simply pointing out that you are obviously shorthanded and I am willing to help you."

He sighed, resting one hand on the desk. "Maybe you're right. I'm getting too old for days like this."

"Age is a matter of perspective." Morgana handed the travel bag to him. He took it and opened it, raising an eyebrow at the bottles. "I promised you samples of our vaccines."

Nodding, he took the bag to place its contents near the laboratory section of Life Station. He spoke when he returned. "I completely forgot about those. It's been one hell of a day."

"I thought you said it was a normal day," she corrected, watching as he fished through his coat pocket.

He removed a pack of cigarettes. "I lied. I know you're probably going to get your hair in a knot again if I just light it, so I'll ask. Do you mind if I have a smoke?"

Sitting on one of the chairs in front of his desk, she folded her hands in her lap. "Truthfully, yes, but seeing the kind of day you've had, I think I can let one slide, as long as I can't see or reach for the pack myself."

He smiled at her. "You've got a lot more class than I gave you credit for." Instead of reaching for his lighter, he slipped the pack back into his pocket. "I suppose a few more hours couldn't hurt. So what's in the other bag?"

"The files you wanted," she responded, unfastening the bag to pull out a small plastic box. She turned it so that he could see a monitor screen on one end of it. Then she pulled out a small cylindrical container, removing an even smaller cylinder from that. She opened a door on the other side of the box and inserted it into a slot before closing the door again.

"This is a modified unit for looking at what we call 'microfilm.' Instead of having physical files, a few years back I found that it was easier to place certain files on microfilm," she explained.

"Does it play home movies too?" he goaded her.

She rolled her eyes. "Do you want to know about the organic Cyborgs or not?"

"Okay. Let's get this show on the road," he retorted.

Morgana pushed a switch on the side to turn it on. Using a series of arrows and buttons just under the screen, she selected the files that she wanted. "When our people nuked themselves in a war two hundred years ago, the remnants of humanity split into two factions. One escaped Earth, leaving a few markers, but denouncing most technology when they reached a new home, as you well know. The other one stayed on Earth for a time, using technology to survive."

"I think we've already figured out that much," Cottle remarked, pulling up a chair behind her.

Morgana snorted. "Patience, Doctor. I would assume that a man of your years and experience would know how compact medical files can be at times."

He smirked. "A man of my years? I thought you said age is a matter of perspective."

She faced him, rolling her eyes. "How you feel about age is a matter of perspective. When you're as impatient as a five-year-old, I won't waste time telling you to act your age."

"Oh please don't try to get on my good side," he said dryly. "Is everything going to be a battle with you, or can we get back to the files?"

Muttering something that sounded like 'pain-in-the-ass,' she resumed telling him about the files. "The faction that relied on technology was only able to stay on Earth for nearly fifty years because the levels of radioactivity were too high, so they adapted their space ships for long-term use. Half a century years ago, they began making certain medical advances in prosthetics and sent some reports of their progress to the Medical Board. Despite the government not wanting to know, the Medical Board welcomed the contact. They found ways to create organic prosthetics that reacted to nerve response like real tissue."

"Now that would be nice to have, instead of the metal crap I'm stuck working with," Cottle added, peering over her shoulder.

She nodded, her eyes only focusing on the screen. "Yes. The Medical Board has borrowed some of the ideas over the years. However, the other humans began making simulated organs and soon they were able to make full-body replacements. What your people call the 'Final Five' actually began as a project that took five children at different times who had been severely injured and placed their consciousness into organic cyber-bodies that would grow and age."

"So the brains were computerized too?" he inquired.

"Sort of. Part of it was their actual brain tissue, but part of it had to be simulated so that it would work with the rest of the body. After receiving reports of this, the Medical Board stopped official contact on the grounds that no human had the right to program another," she informed him.

He placed a hand on the back of her chair. "If that's true, then why do you have the files?"

She turned to him, grinning wryly. "Because while the rest of the Medical Board was fussing over ethics, I wanted to know what our brothers in space had up their sleeves in case we had to defend ourselves against something. I may not look like it, but I'm fifty-seven."

"What's your secret then? Aside from a few gray streaks in your hair, I thought you were in your forties," he admitted.

"Part of it is genetics. Slow aging on my father's side of the family and the like. The other part is an herb we found on Terra Prime. You grind it up, boil it, and use it with skin cream and it takes care of wrinkles," she explained.

He chuckled. "If your whole planet knows about that stuff, then I know a lot of women who are going to sign up as customers as soon as they can land."

She gave him a genuine smile. "All in good time, Doctor. Now as for the files, the five children were taken at different times. One was taken around the time that your people went to war with robots."

His eyes widened. "You mean you knew about our people from the start?"

"Not exactly. The information we received from our brothers was that there was a group of other humans, physiologically equal to us. We were given no cultural information. Naturally I assumed that they were from some unmentioned colony ship from Earth that had left centuries ago. Anyway, the last child was helped over twenty years ago. They were programmed to someday return to Earth, but until their programming kicked in, they were susceptible to all sorts of diseases that regular humans are. Once the programming kicked in, the body was designed to reject the disease," she mentioned.

"That explains a lot," he responded.

"We lost contact with them about twenty years ago. Something attacked their ship. Prior to the last report, I have several notes about needing to move the ship because of piracy from the local people. The people they found had become space-faring and a few had no qualms about trying to pillage someone else's network. Someone had been stealing some of their Cyborg files. The last message I received asked me to destroy my files. I basically got one line from them saying 'Ship boarded by enemy, destroy all information,'" she relayed.

He stepped back, crossing his arms. "It's possible that someone attacked your people and then used the technology to build the other Cylons. Can you tell me anything else about the programming? Is it possible to share dreams?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I have no idea, Doctor. However, if there's one thing I have learned over the years, it's that there are some things in this universe that medicine cannot explain. 'There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.'"

"Actually my name's Jack," Cottle stated.

"It's a literary reference from a play called _Hamlet_. I'll have to lend you a copy." Morgana began to back away the unit, however, she moved too quickly standing and bumped into him. "Sorry about that."

"My fault for reading over your shoulder," he responded.

Suddenly the proximity of how close they stood to each other occurred to her. Her mouth went dry as she looked up at him. Clearing her throat, she found her voice again. "I suppose I should head back to Terra Prime."

"First you should come with me, and we've got to explain all of this to the admiral and the president. They'll want to know," he recommended. She agreed and they left Life Station.

Bill and Laura were looking over fleet status reports in their quarters when they heard a knock at the door. He answered it to find Cottle and Morgana. "I take it you found something interesting."

Cottle nodded. "You could say that. We decided to pass it along to you."

For the next two hours they discussed the files and the Cylons. Bill joined Laura on the couch when the doctors had left. "At least we've got a better understanding of what's going on now," Bill remarked.

Laura took a sip of her water. "Yes, but it doesn't bring us any closer to understanding the dreams I have, or what the Three Sisters Prophecy has to do with anything."

"From what you've told me, it sounds like you're supposed to keep peace between everyone," he recalled.

"But how am I supposed to do that if they know I'm a Cylon? I'll be glad when I can wake up in the morning, and not have to worry about being anyone else except Mrs. Laura Adama," she told him.

He smiled, leaning in to kiss her softly. "We'll figure this out, like we always do."

She kissed him back. "I hope you're right. In the meantime, I think it's time that we got back to D'Anna."

"You sure you want to do that?" Bill inquired.

"No, but I think we need to," she responded.

A private line was set up between _Galactica_ and the baseship. "Madame President, you wanted to speak with me?"

"Yes. The leader of the planet is very opposed to technology. It would be best if you send some of your people down dressed like our people, mixing the two groups together," Laura suggested.

"Are you suggesting that your people take charge of my people?" D'Anna questioned.

Laura sighed. "I wouldn't suggest anything of the sort. You are still in charge, but I don't think you should led the planet's leader specifically realize that we are two separate groups."

She could hear D'Anna grown on the other end of the wireless. "And you think that your people will concede to hiding Cylons?"

"I think it's the best possible solution, given our current situation," the president told her.

While Laura reasoned with D'Anna, Cottle escorted Morgana back to the Raptor. "You didn't have to come with me. I could've asked one of the soldiers you've got wandering around."

"Think of it as door-to-door service," Cottle stated.

Morgana scoffed. "You just didn't want to cause an intergalactic incident by losing one of the premiere's favorite doctors."

Cottle snorted. "I don't know if the word 'favorite' would be a compliment in that case. Your premiere doesn't seem like a guy you'd want to be alone with."

Laughing, she nodded. "On that, Doctor, we agree." She stepped onto the Raptor, but turned back to him. "You will consider my offer of a bigger staff, won't you?"

He gave her a smile. "You've given me a lot to consider today."

(My thanks to WonderfallsOnDaisies, carolann, and McGonagallFan for reviewing :D)


	14. Wedding plans

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 14: Wedding plans

Not long after Cottle and Sorenson had stopped by, Bill and Laura decided that it was time to plan their wedding. They decided to bring Dee, Kara, Saul, and Caprica into the discussion, also inviting Lee. Bill sat at his desk while Caprica, Kara, and Dee took the couch. Saul and Lee took the chairs. Laura paced in front of the desk as everyone arrived. Once everyone had glass of water, Bill cleared his throat and she stopped pacing, slowly turning to face the others.

"I've asked you all here for an important reason. I," she paused, glancing at Bill, "we have an announcement."

"You're either getting married or you're pregnant," Kara blurted out.

Lee spit his water out. Laura sighed, running a hand through her hair. "How in the world is it that obvious?" As a complete silence greeted her, she realized that she should answer one of Kara's assumptions before the others figured out that she was referring to both. "The admiral and I have decided to get married."

Kara grinned. "Way to go, Old Man, Madame Prez. What can we do?"

"We need help planning the wedding," Laura replied.

Dee flipped over the duty roster on the clipboard that she had been carrying. "What do you need? Let's see… a priest, enough food for maybe eight guests-"

"Actually we might need more than that," Bill interrupted.

Laura folded her arms in front of her. "We need to plan a big wedding, a really big wedding."

Saul stared at them incredulously. "Bill, Laura, what are you two thinking? The whole fleet's gonna find out and then the press-"

"That's exactly what we need," Laura interjected.

"I'm lost," Saul admitted.

Laura exchanged a glance with Caprica, who rested a hand on her growing abdomen. "Is the wedding a distraction from something else?"

Unable to trust her own reaction, Laura looked back to Bill. "The president wants to resign for personal reasons."

"In other words, you need a big wedding so people don't dig too far into what those reasons might be," Kara deduced.

Laura nodded. "Yes. The reason I'm giving them is that I want to marry the admiral and want to resign because such a marriage would be a conflict of interest."

"This is going to take six months to plan," Dee mentioned, frantically writing suggestions to make the wedding bigger.

Panic flashed in Laura's eyes for a moment. "That won't do. This can't take any longer than a month to get together."

"Then we've got major work ahead of us," Dee mentioned.

"I want the wedding on Terra Prime, which means I'll need to ask that doctor, I think the name was 'Sorenson' about finding a location, as well as flowers," Laura remarked, having regained her sense of calm.

"And food," Kara chimed in.

"And booze," Saul added.

Lee cleared his throat. "Ma'am, doesn't that mean you'll be telling Premiere Blackwell about all this?"

Laura sighed. "Unfortunately yes. However, I've given that situation a great deal of thought. We should discuss that part later."

"Of course," Lee said with a nod.

Dee, who had been busily writing the comments down, looked up. "We need to find you a dress, as well as bride's maid's dresses. If you want a big wedding, we'll need all the trimmings."

Kara chuckled. Bill raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny, Starbuck?"

"Nothing, sir. It's just that a lot of girls always want big weddings and end up with small weddings. I know that you and the president would rather have a small wedding, but to hide whatever it is that you're hiding, you get stuck with what will probably be the biggest event since the Ground-Breaking Ceremony on New Caprica. I just think it's ironic."

"Are you gonna just sit there laughing, or offer to help?" Saul questioned.

"I'm totally helping. I can organize where everybody's going to sit, direct traffic," she suggested.

Caprica looked at Laura from the couch. "Excuse me, Madame President, but what can I do?"

Laura smiled politely. "Actually I wanted to discuss that with you privately. As for everyone else, I think we're done here. Thank you for coming."

Bill walked over to Lee and Saul just outside of his quarters. "I need to find a ring."

"We'll check with the merchants, see if there's a jeweler around," Saul stated.

Lee put a hand up. "Actually a couple of the delegates might know of someone. We could start looking now."

The admiral nodded. "You do that. I'll be in CIC in case anything else comes up. Good hunting."

While Bill headed back to CIC, Laura joined Caprica on the couch. "I'm no good at figuring out dress designs. I thought that you might be interested in helping me organize the brides' maids' dresses, as well as my own. And I heard a rumor that you sew."

Caprica smiled graciously. "Thank you for including me in something like this. I do sew, as do some of my sisters. We just need measurements and how many dresses you will need. What colors are you thinking of?"

_This is the most human I have ever heard her sound. Perhaps we all need tasks to do in order to treat each other like people_, Laura mused before replying. I was thinking of a white dress for myself, and pastel green for the brides' maids, or maybe lavender."

A spark of excitement passed through the blonde Cylon's eyes. "I can do that. It might be nice to have the same pattern for all the brides' maids' dresses, but have some be green and some be lavender. Was there anything else?"

Laura's gaze again drifted to Caprica's abdomen. _Maybe I should tell her_. She opened her mouth to speak, but different words came out than she had intended. "You and I are more alike than I had ever thought possible."

Caprica turned her head to the side in contemplation. Then her eyes widened with the realization. "You're pregnant too! That's why you couldn't have the wedding in six months!"

She nodded slowly. "Apparently the girl in the dream is my daughter. The Three Sisters Prophecy most likely refers to Athena's daughter, your daughter, and eventually my daughter. Unfortunately, it still doesn't make much sense."

The other realization suddenly occurred to Caprica as she continued to stare at Laura. "That means you're the Fifth, doesn't it?"

"That too. I have to resign for my own safety as well as my daughter's," Laura explained.

Caprica nodded. "I wish I could tell you more about the dream."

Laura raised a hand dismissively. "It's alright. I do have one more thing to ask you though."

"You don't have to worry, Madame President. I won't tell anyone what we've discussed," Caprica relayed.

"Thank you," Laura said with a small smile.

The blonde Cylon left as Bill returned. Laura let out a long sigh and sank into the couch. He joined her, reaching to grasp one of her hands. "Are you alright? Can I get you anything?"

She smiled at his concern, leaning over to kiss him softly. "You worry too much. I'm just a little overwhelmed at all the things that need to be done. I've also been thinking about how to handle the Terran leader."

"This I've got to hear," Bill said with a smirk.

Rolling her eyes, she told him "It's nothing mischievous if that's what you're thinking."

He snorted. "Pity."

"Bill, he adamantly refuses to deal with anyone else but me. Therefore, I can only see one logical solution," she stated.

He pulled her closer to him so that she was resting against his chest. "Something tells me I'm not going to like this idea."

"No, you're probably not. I was thinking of staying on as an ambassador of sorts between our people and his. In that way, I don't have to be too directly involved with our government, and I wouldn't have to stay long when I visit his," she suggested.

"You're right. I don't like the idea. Just what do you think he's going to do when he finds out you're pregnant? He's going to come to the conclusion that it's medically impossible and know that something's way off," Bill argued.

She extracted herself from his arms and walked over to the desk to pour herself a glass of water. "We never told him what I was recovering from, or what my treatments had been."

Bill shook his head. "This time I'm putting my foot down. We have absolutely no reason to trust that man. I will not take the chance that he could hurt you or the baby. We'll talk to him together and make it clear to him that if he doesn't work with me or Lee, he doesn't work with anyone."

They decided to head down to the surface, intending to meet with Premiere Blackwell. Tiberius greeted Laura with a warm handshake and smile, then greeted Bill with a cool nod. "What can I do for you, Madame President?"

She glanced at the admiral, then turned back to Tiberius. "I wanted you to know that I have still resolved to resign."

He stared at them, wide-eyed. "Madame President, we've been over this. You and I will continue to work together and Dr. Sorenson can see to all your medical needs."

Adama was tired of being talked around. "She's resigning as president due to a conflict of interest."

"I don't care about your people's disagreements; I won't deal with anyone else. President or not, I insist that Roslin is the only one of you I'm forced to deal with," Tiberius argued.

Adama took a deep breath as he thought, _what the frak do I have to do to get through to this guy?_ "Look, I'm sorry we've upset your applecart, but she and I are involved in a situation that-"

"Say that again," Tiberius insisted.

The admiral had his stoic mask in place to hide his irritation. "She and I are involved-"

"I should've known when you were over-protective of her on her first visit. Just how are the two of you involved?" he demanded.

Laura glanced from Bill to Tiberius, taking a deep breath. "The admiral and I are getting married."

A red color seeped into his skin from the neck, slowly moving up. "What! Are you out of your mind? He's nothing but an overbearing, lumbering, grouchy, old-"

Adama grabbed Tiberius by his shirt collar so quickly that the shock was clearly written in the premiere's face as his eyes widened. "I've had just about enough of you and your petty-"

"Gentlemen!" Laura shouted. Bill and Tiberius immediately faced her, Bill having yet to let go of the other man's shirt. "I will not split up two grown men like this again," she scolded through gritted teeth. "Admiral, please wait for me outside the office."

He reluctantly released Tiberius, sparing him one glare before stepping toward Laura. His voice was barely above a whisper. "If he so much as breathes wrong-"

The glare she dealt him caused him to let the sentence drop. After he had exited the office, Roslin turned back to Tiberius. "Premiere Blackwell-"

"Please, Tiberius," the man interjected.

She sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Very well, Tiberius, I am only going to discuss this one more time. I need to resign and you need to either deal with the admiral, or Lee Adama."

He perched himself on the edge of his desk. "Madame President, am I really so terrible to work with?"

"No, I need to resign for personal reasons," she mentioned.

Tiberius looked her up and down. "You don't have to marry him, you know. My government has a good housing plan down here. If you're doing this because he's got some sort of hold over you…"

_I don't believe this. Do I have a sign somewhere on me that says 'Likes men in power,' or do I just have bad luck with guys like this?_ She gave him the political plastic smile. "I appreciate your offer, but I can only promise you that I am not being coerced into marriage. I love him."

The man in front of her raised an eyebrow. "Forgive my bluntness, but you have terrible taste in men."

She sat back in the chair in front of his desk, folding her hands in her lap. "How you feel about my taste is irrelevant. The fact remains that I have to resign."

He returned to his seat behind his desk, sitting and then staring at her for what felt like a long time. "If you insist on resigning, then I will talk to the younger one. But I refuse to speak with the admiral again."

She left quickly, finding Bill walking up to the office. "Where did you go?"

"Not far. I went for a short walk and ran into Galen Tyrol," he answered.

Laura folded her hands in front of her, watching him. "And?"

Bill took a deep breath. "I told him about what we had come to suspect about Tory. He was angry that nobody had investigated the matter further when Callie died, but he didn't blame me. He seemed relieved though. I think you were right about him feeling better that she didn't kill herself because of him."

"Did you tell him about Baltar?" she probed.

He shook his head. "I didn't see a reason to. The man's already been through enough pain. To tell him that his son, the one link he has to his wife, might not be his, it wouldn't be of any benefit to either of them."

"As much as I hate to admit it, sometimes ignorance really is bliss," she told him.

Bill glanced at the government building, then back to Laura. "So what happened with the premiere?"

"He's willing to work with Lee," she told him.

"I hope you didn't have to promise anything for him to deal with someone else," Bill cautioned.

"Fortunately no. Now we need to find that doctor. I believe she works over there," Laura stated, pointing to the hospital building.

They took the short path that Tiberius had shown Laura earlier. When they reached the front desk, they asked for Dr. Sorenson. She emerged a moment later, adjusting her white lab coat. "Madame President, Admiral, what can I do for you?"

Laura fidgeted with her hands. "Could we talk privately?"

"Of course," Morgana responded.

She led them to her office. "It's not medical, it's just a personal situation," Laura began.

Morgana raised an eyebrow. "Why come to me?"

"You're the only person I can actually say that I know, aside from the premiere, and I am certainly not asking him for anything," Laura replied.

The other woman smirked. "Smart move."

The president proceeded with what was on her mind. "I am resigning for reasons that I'm sure you can guess, but to cover those, I'm telling my government that I am stepping down so that I can marry the admiral. Basically we need a big wedding and I don't know anything about floral arrangements here."

Morgana bit her cheek to keep from laughing. Of all the things to ask, she had not expected a wedding announcement. The absurdity hit her full force and though she did not laugh, a grin spread across her face. "You've caught me by surprise. I was expecting something a bit more… challenging. We replanted flowers from Earth here and I know a few people that I can point you to. Was there anything else?"

Laura thought for a moment. "I need material for a wedding dress and brides' maids' dresses."

The doctor walked over to her desk and rummaged through a desk drawer. Then she headed back toward the others with a notepad and pen in her hand. "I'm going to give you the addresses of the people you need to see and how to get there. I know your people don't have money, so just tell them you're on Dr. Sorenson's tab."

"Thank you," Laura said.

"We also need a good location to hold the wedding," the admiral added.

"Not a problem. There's a big open field near where your people are building their settlement," Morgana told them.

They left the hospital, wandering in the direction that she had pointed out to them. They walked down what appeared to be the shopping district. Shops along the sidewalk had pictures of what they were selling. The aroma of multiple flower varieties reached Laura's and Bill's noses long before they actually saw the quaint shop. The buildings all had a similar light brown-orange look to them, as if constructed out of something natural. As they looked around, Bill and Laura noticed the lack of trees on the planet.

"What a strange place. The shops remind me of the dirt on this planet, and I only see a few trees by what I'm sure is a set of houses," Laura remarked.

Bill nodded. "I suppose they brought a few trees with them. From what the recon teams have told me, there are a lot more in the suburban areas. I think the buildings are made out of something like plaster or cement, but with the local dirt mixed in."

They entered the flower shop and Laura picked out what the clerk told her were white roses, along with ferns. As she picked out more flowers, Bill looked outside of the shop window to watch what looked like a miniature train zip through the street. Laura joined him after ordering some of the floral arrangements. "Is that what I think it is?"

"I think so. I haven't seen one running since I was a kid. The Caprican Transit Museum had one like that. Who would've known that they would be using cable cars on this planet?" Bill mused.

"It appears that public transportation is what they use here. I haven't seen one car," Laura added as they left the flower shop.

Bill took another look at the shops. "Have you also noticed that these shops look like Caprica thirty or forty years ago? I'm almost surprised to see electricity around here."

Laura laughed, swatting his arm playfully. "It's not as if they live in the Stone Age. From what I understand, they gave up a lot of their technology because of the nuclear war on Earth, but they still kept a few basic things around."

The two ended up walking over to where their people had been allowed to begin a settlement. Basic structures were standing such as the hospital and some sort of safety department from what they could make out, even some houses had been built, in similar style to the Terrans. However, it would be several months until the Colonials would be able to move in.

She wandered over to the empty field a few yards away from the construction sites. "I suppose it's as good a place as any to hold a wedding. At least it has grass." As she glanced at Bill, a grin spread over his face. She raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"You and I get to be the first ones of our people to have a wedding on solid ground," he told her. Glancing around first to see that they were not noticed, he kissed her tenderly.

Laura smiled when the kiss ended, looping her arm through his. "I guess the biggest question now is who to pick for my maid of honor."

(My thanks to Manora and carolann for reviewing :D)


	15. Moment of peace

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 15: Moment of peace

The wedding of Admiral Adama and President Roslin took place two months after they had left Earth. Actually resigning had taken more time than Laura had originally figured. It had taken three weeks to find Lee a vice-president. Kelly Graham was petite, blonde, and the replacement from the Sagittarians. She had originally been a librarian at the time of the attacks, and had gone into teaching the surviving children later. The Quorum would not let Laura resign until the new staff adjustments had been made. Then for the sake of history and publicity, the press wanted her to wait to resign until after the wedding.

Compared to the politics surrounding it, planning the wedding seemed much less chaotic than she had originally assumed. Sorenson had been kind enough to help her find a few chefs who were willing to try cooking new dishes so that Laura and Bill could have Colonial food at their wedding. Dee had a few friends from _Galactica_ find music, but when she put out inquiries she ended up with a small orchestra of volunteers who wanted to play actual instruments for the wedding.

On the day of the wedding, Kara was having too much fun telling people where to sit, calling everyone 'nuggets,' in spite of the pastel green brides' maid dress that had been assigned to her. In a tent set up near the field that had been selected for the ceremony, Caprica was helping Laura with her dress. It was white with an old-fashioned neckline that reached the shoulders and long sleeves. The entire top half was heavily embroidered with floral designs and the skirt fanned out.

Caprica pulled up the zipper in the back of the dress as Laura took a breath. "I hope that's not too tight."

Laura faced her with a small smile. "No, it's fine. It's a good thing you added a couple of inches to the measurements we made."

"You look lovely," Caprica remarked as Laura glanced at her reflection.

The blonde Cylon wore a simple sky blue dress. Laura turned back to her as the other woman took a seat on the bench that had been brought in. "Are you certain you don't want to be a bride's maid?" Laura inquired.

Caprica blushed. "It was nice of you to ask me, but I can't stand for that long."

Dee slipped into the tent, wearing the simple strap sleeved V-neck dress that had been selected for the brides' maids. While Kara's had been pastel green, Dee's dress was lavender. "Laura, are you ready?"

Laura smiled at her maid of honor. "Coming, Dee. I just need to get the veil on without completely destroying my hairdo."

"Let me help," Dee volunteered.

Laura's natural hair had grown to just past her shoulders and with only water could sustain a natural curl. Few people knew that her hair was not another wig. Dee had fixed the veil so that it slid over Laura's ears like glasses, rather than clipping it to her hair. After moving a few curls to frame Laura's face, Dee moved back to smile. "You look good, ma'am."

The older woman blushed. "Thank you. Go ahead and tell them I'm ready."

As Dee rushed outside, Laura took a deep breath. She was marrying a man she loved, in front of thousands of people, Terrans as well as Colonials. All at once she sat down by Caprica. "Are you alright?" the blonde Cylon asked.

"I shouldn't be nervous, but I just realized how many people are going to be watching this," Laura remarked.

"I'm sure it will be-" Caprica broke off in midsentence, placing a hand on her abdomen. Laura eyed her with concern. "It's okay. I'm six months pregnant and should be used to the baby moving so much by now."

"I think I'm beginning to understand how much of a distraction that might be if you were standing as a brides' maid," Laura commented.

Caprica reached for one of Laura's hands. Then she placed Laura's hand on her abdomen. "It feels strange, but then it becomes… well I can't think of another word except comforting to have something alive, so close to you."

Laura smiled back. "Thank you for sharing that."

She heard footsteps outside the tent and stood. Cottle wandered into the tent. "Well, are you coming out or not? I can't give the bride away if you're going to spend all afternoon in this tent," he grumbled.

"Of course I'm coming," Laura responded, looping one of her arms around his. As he left the tent, Caprica went to sit by Athena.

Outside numerous white chairs were separated into rows on the grass, split into two groups so that a white strip of material down the center of them could serve as an aisle. Bill stood at the front of the chairs with Saul next to him as his best man, both in their dress grays. Bill shifted from one foot to the other.

Saul smirked. "You aren't nervous, Old Man, are you?"

"No," Bill said too quickly. "I just want to know what's taking so long. I saw Dee go into that tent, and it's like she disappeared."

"Caprica and Laura are in there, and three women in a small space usually means that they've got something to talk about. There's Dee. And there goes Cottle. He'll set things straight," Saul commented.

Bill sighed. "I just hope she's alright."

"You worry too much. Here they come," Saul stated as Cottle walked Laura down the aisle, both ignoring the camera flashes of the press. Dee stood next to Laura as her maid of honor for the ceremony.

Only Laura could read the intense anticipation on Bill's face as she arrived. "You always look smart in your dress grays," she told him with a smile, running a hand over his sash.

He caressed her left cheek with his right hand. "You are so beautiful."

She blushed deeply. Then the priest cleared his throat. He was a small balding man with a long beard. "Shall we begin?"

Both nodded and Bill looked back to Saul, who handed him Laura's wedding ring. It was a gold band with a heart-shaped diamond in the middle, flanked by a small round diamond on both sides. The priest spoke again. "This ring represents a complete, unbroken circle, love's constancy and love's unbreakable bond."

Then the priest pulled out a white string. "This string represents the linear life that we live. Please join hands." Bill clasped Laura's right hand in his left. The priest took the string and tied their hands together. "The joining of hands represents the joining of lives. As this string bonds you now, so shall your lives be bonded in marriage. So say we all."

"So say we all," Bill and Laura repeated.

The priest looked at him. "Do you, Admiral William Adama take President Laura Roslin to be your wife, through joy and trials, harvest and famine, prosperity and poverty, health and illness, for as long as life allows?"

Bill answered in his gravelly voice, "I do," never taking his eyes from Laura's.

Smiling, the priest looked to Laura. "And do you, President Laura Roslin, take Admiral William Adama to be your husband, through joy and trials, harvest and famine, prosperity and poverty, health and illness, for as long as life allows?"

Tears of happiness slipped down Laura's cheeks as she smiled only for Bill. "I do."

"May you give each other the same care and devotion that you've given the fleet. By the power vested in me," he paused to untie the string around their hands, "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You man now kiss the bride."

At the sudden ambush of flashes, Bill and Laura hesitated, still keeping their hands joined. He slowly cupped her cheek with his right hand. As he leaned toward her, someone shouted "Just kiss her already." Laura giggled softly before Bill kissed her soundly. She wrapped her free hand around his neck, pulling him closer. Suddenly the press did not matter. Thunderous applause erupted.

Bill and Laura parted, turning back to the people. Hands still joined, they walked down the aisle and out to the tables for the wedding reception. The food was set out as a buffet of Colonial dishes, but for that part reservations were required. Most people had Ambrosia or Picon Brandy, but for Laura and Caprica, Morgana had found Sparkling Apple Cider, which looked enough like Picon Brandy to anyone who would question the drinks.

Lee raised a glass to toast as everyone got their plate of food. Laura and Bill were seated at the head table. Bill nodded to Lee as he stepped out in front of the table, looking at the crowd. "A toast, to the finest leaders in the fleet, who have gone through so much, and come so far. They brought us out of the Attacks, promising Earth. They found Earth, and promised us a new home. They have kept their promises to us as we stand here today, to celebrate the first Colonial wedding on solid ground."

"So say we all," several people called out.

However, Lee had more to say. "They gave us more than a home. They gave us hope when we had none, and gave us something to hope for. You can't just survive; you need something to live for. Admiral, Madame President, you now have each other to live for, and I couldn't be happier for you. May you continue to lean on each other, and love each other. To the man I'm proud to call my father, and the woman I'm happy to call my stepmother, thank you for everything you've done, not just for the fleet, but for me. Congratulations and many more years together."

Laura was wiping the tears from her eyes. Bill managed to rumble, "So say we all."

Saul from where he sat with Caprica echoed, "So say we all."

Kara and Sam shouted, "So say we all."

"So say we all," Dee chimed in.

A massive "so say we all" spread through the crowd like a wave.

After the banquet, the traditional Colonial dancing began. A slow dance played first, in which Bill and Laura danced in the middle of the couples. He held her closely as she rested her head on his shoulder. "We haven't done this since Colonial Day. Do you remember?" she whispered.

"Of course. How could I forget that I somehow ended up dancing with the most beautiful woman in the room that day?" he remarked.

"Flatterer," she teased.

"Only for my wife," he whispered in her ear.

As the first dance ended, the orchestra switched to the livelier number, one that required lots of spinning and changing of partners. Bill and Laura danced for a while longer, but then took a seat, letting the younger crowd enjoy the dancing. "I think I'm done for the day," Laura remarked.

Bill smirked. "That dance is hard to keep up with."

As they sat watching the others, she rested her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her. Then she glanced over by one of the refreshment tables. "Look Bill, it's Jack, and it looks as though Dr. Sorenson has found him."

"This might be interesting," he stated, watching the other two.

As Cottle crossed his arms in front of him, watching the dance, Morgana suddenly appeared on his left. "So this is what you people do for fun."

He smirked. "It's called dancing."

"I can see that," she remarked, stepping closer to him.

Her gaze followed the dancers. Though it was nothing near a pace he would have preferred, Cottle had an idea. "Would you like to dance?"

Morgana snorted, eyeing him incredulously. "Me? I'm absolutely terrible at it. I mean look at how quickly they all move. I would just fall flat on my face."

"Then you haven't had a descent dancing partner. If your partner's worth his salt, he won't let you fall," Cottle refuted.

She raised an eyebrow. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that almost sounded like a pass."

He shook his head. "I'm too old for that nonsense, but I'm not too old to dance."

"Well I am," she protested.

"No you're not. All you have to do is trust me," he said plainly.

"You, Doctor, are a bad influence," she volleyed.

"And you, Madame, don't know when to compromise," he argued.

She sighed. "You're not giving up, are you?"

"One dance," he said, offering her his hand.

Morgana studied him, looking him up and down in the suit he wore. "Only if you find me some of that drink you call 'Ambrosia' afterward."

He eyed the revealing round-neckline red dress that she had chosen for the occasion. "Deal."

They joined in the faster dancing and soon Morgana found herself laughing with everyone else. When she found herself in Cottle's arms as the dance ended, she was flushed and out of breath. "I do believe that you've had fun for once," he teased.

She chuckled lightly. "Maybe you're right."

As promised, he led her back to the refreshment table for Ambrosia. When they both had glasses, she took a sip. The she coughed immediately. "This stuff burns. It's like a drink we have called Scotch, except Scotch isn't green."

"How come you didn't have any during the toast?" Cottle inquired.

"I was actually thirsty and had a glass of water at the time," Morgana answered. She finished off her glass, continuing to sputter.

He could not resist smirking at her discomfort. "It's a good thing we're both doctors. You're going to need help if you can't hold your liquor."

Standing up straight, she looked at him directly in the eyes. "What did you just say?"

"You can't hold your liquor," he repeated.

"Is that a fact?" She set her empty glass on the table. "Pour me another one, and pour another for yourself."

He raised an eyebrow, complying with her request. "You sure about this?"

"Come on, Doctor, let's find out if you can drink as well as you smoke," she challenged.

Four glasses and two thirds of a bottle of Ambrosia later, both were staggering. "I think, while one of us still has the capacity to think like a doctor, that we've both had enough," Cottle concluded.

Morgana shakily left her glass on the table. "Perhaps you're right." She walked away from the table and bumped into a folding chair.

He wrapped an arm around her waist, catching her so that she did not fall. "You, young lady, should probably go home."

When he tried to help her walk, his own intoxicated state caused them to walk into a vacated table. "Doctor, you should probably go home yourself," she told him, sitting on the table. The awkwardness of their situation suddenly caused her to double over in laughter.

He laughed with her. "This… is a… bad sign."

She nodded, still laughing. "Yes. And you're… a bloody… scoundrel. I haven't… been this drunk… since I quit smoking."

Helping her stand, he walked her out of the banquet area. The finally stopped laughing as they breathed in the night air. "Do you want me to walk you home?" he offered.

Her face held an expression that he could not read as she stopped walking. Without warning, she suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck as her lips crashed into his. She kissed him passionately and then moved back. "I want to take you home with me," she whispered.

"We're both somewhat plastered. I don't know if that's a good idea," he told her, resting his forehead against hers.

"I've wanted to kiss you since we were in your office looking at those files. It's not the alcohol," she admitted.

"You are an infuriating, attractive woman. Are you sure you won't hate yourself in the morning?" he probed.

She cupped his cheek with her hand, moving back to look at him. "Doctor, I know what I am asking.

He still eyed her with concern. "It's been a long day."

"Our conversation about dancing led me to believe that you had more energy than I would expect; prove it," she challenged.

"Promise me you won't regret what you're asking," he requested.

In response, she grabbed the shirt of his suit to pull him close to her. Then she kissed him deeply. He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close. When they parted to breath, she looked up at him. "That should be all the answer you need."

Bill and Laura had watched Cottle and Morgana leave together. "I thought he didn't like her," Laura commented.

"You can't tell these days. Some people would think I didn't like you in the beginning either," Bill teased.

She chuckled, kissing him softly. "You shouldn't listen to ship's gossip."

He looked around to see most of the people dancing or eating, with some trickling out of the area. "You think anyone would mind if we skipped out?"

"I hope you've got a Raptor ready with an offer like that," she mentioned with a grin.

"It just so happens that I do. I also have two days on the _Rising Star_ booked," he whispered.

"Then why are we still here?" she asked wryly. He kissed her soundly. Then they stood, quietly slipping past the tables, through the grass, and over to a waiting Raptor. Someone had painted 'Just Married' on the back.

Bill knocked three times on the door as they arrived. The Raptor door opened to reveal Kara as the pilot. "I thought you two would leave before saying goodbye, so I volunteered to fly you to your honeymoon."

They entered and the door closed behind them. "Thank you," Bill stated.

"Is there any particular reason you wanted to see us off?" Laura probed as the Raptor climbed through the atmosphere.

"Check under your seat, Laura," the blonde pilot remarked.

Laura found a semi-flat rectangular box. As she opened it and showed it to Bill, both stared at the contents with wonder. "Are these chocolates?" Laura asked.

The Raptor had breached the atmosphere and was heading toward the fleet. "Yep. Can't tell you where I got them though. I need my secrets. They have a purpose though."

"Should we ask what that might be?" Bill said.

Kara glanced over her shoulder with a big grin on her face. "Think of them as a between frak-time, I mean between rack-time snack."

Laura rolled her eyes. "You've been waiting all day to say that, haven't you?"

"Having to listen to the Quorum argue about where I told them to sit needs to have some perks," Kara stated as they reached the _Rising Star_.

(A/N: Due to the fact that I'm trying to maintain the 'T' rating on this story, we will not be seeing Bill and Laura's honeymoon in the next chapter. They deserve a little privacy after all the press coverage of their wedding :D)

(My thanks to kywildcat, Guardian Ghost, WonderfallsOnDaisies, carolann, and McGonagallFan for reviewing :D)


	16. War games

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 16: War games

After leaving the reception, Cottle and Morgana had staggered through the quiet streets all the way to her house, which was only a few blocks away. She fumbled with the key as he helped her remain standing. Once inside, she flopped down on the bouncy blue couch, laughing again. "What's so funny now?" Cottle asked, closing the door.

"You've no… idea… how… long it's been… since I… brought… a man… home with me. I must… be out… of my mind." Then she took a deep breath and stopped laughing. "I'm sorry. Here you are, having asked me if I'll have regrets about this and I don't say anything until we get to my house."

He smirked at her. "It's alright. Mind if I use the head?"

She burst out laughing again. "I… have no… bloody… idea… what you… just said. What… head… are… you… talking about? My head… is… an absolute… mess right now… so you… really should… use… your… own mind."

"I meant may I use your bathroom? 'Head' is military for 'bathroom,'" he clarified.

Still laughing, she pointed to a darkened doorway on the other side of the room. He found a bathroom and by the time he emerged, he did not hear her laughing anymore. Instead he found her sleeping soundly on the couch. Sighing, he picked her up. "Can't have you sleeping there. It is your house after all."

He carried her to what he assumed was her bedroom in the small house. Then he set her down on the bed and removed her shoes. He pulled the bedspread over her like a sleeping bag. Then he left for the couch. He slid his shoes off, as well as his suit jacket, and grabbed a few extra pillows from the other side of the couch. With the suit jacket on top of him, he stretched out on the couch and went to sleep.

When he awoke the next morning, he checked on Morgana to find her still asleep. Then he grabbed his cigarette pack and lighter from his pocket before stepping outside. The brisk morning air was a stark contrast from Life Station, but it smelled considerably better and it lacked the chill that the breeze on New Caprica had carried.

He took a moment to look at the area in the morning light. The row of tract houses looked similar to the ones that the Colonials had been directed to build, complete with a small front lawn and a few trees. He could hear someone's dog barking and even a rooster crowing, though it was well past sunrise. As he walked outside, he felt a slight tremor from the ground. _Must be a fault line nearby_, he reasoned. He stared down at the half-used cigarette in his hand, realizing that for all the years he had been smoking, it was starting to lose its appeal.

Later when he returned to Morgana's house, he wandered into her bathroom and spotted a bottle of blue mouthwash. Using enough of it to wash away the smoky smell, he returned to the couch. After a moment, he heard a moan from the bedroom.

"Oh, it feels like the nine levels of hell have all crammed into my head," Morgana groused.

He heard her enter the bathroom and gargle after a while. When she entered the living room, she wore a simple blue blouse and jeans. Cottle nodded to her. "If you don't mind me in your kitchen, I might be able to make an old hangover remedy."

She nodded, then winced from the pain. "Certainly. It's right over…" she trailed off, turning her gaze back to him. "You're actually here!"

"I slept on the couch," he replied.

The two headed toward the kitchen, Morgana massaging her temples. "I made a complete fool of myself last night, didn't I?"

"You were drunk, and I made sure that you got back to your home safely. Anything you said that you didn't want to say, you weren't in your right mind at the time," Cottle amended.

She gestured toward the cabinets, letting him search her kitchen freely. "I feel like such an idiot. I practically threw myself at you."

"Don't beat yourself up. I wasn't exactly on my best behavior either," he pointed out.

Morgana sat down on one of her sturdy, yet spindly kitchen chairs, made of the same composite recycled materials as the premiere's desk. "It's not that I don't find you attractive, Doctor, it's simply that I should have behaved better."

"Makes two of us," he remarked, handing her a glass containing a brownish liquid that she tried not to stare at. "Hold your nose when you drink it, and whatever you do, don't taste it."

Instead of drinking it, she set it down on the table, taking his as well and placing the glass next to hers. "You didn't take advantage of me last night, and for that I should thank you."

"You don't have to-" she cut him off with a sudden kiss. Grabbing his shoulders, she kissed him deeply.

Then as quickly as she had initiated the kiss, she pulled back and whacked him in the back of the head. "You used my mouthwash!"

"I had one cigarette this morning, and I didn't want to smell like smoke," he countered.

"Bloody scoundrel," she grumbled, reaching past him, drinking the anti-hangover concoction.

He followed suit, both of them mirroring the other's expression of disgust at the end. "I guess holding your nose doesn't work completely."

She grabbed an empty cup and walked out of the kitchen, gesturing for him to follow. Reaching the bathroom, she poured mouthwash into a cup already sitting by the sink. Then she poured some of the liquid into the cup from the kitchen and grudgingly handed it to him. After they had removed the taste of the anti-hangover drink from their mouths, he headed toward the front door.

"I need to get back to _Galactica_," Cottle mentioned.

Morgana placed a hand on the doorknob, but hesitated to open it. "I don't want you to think that I'm always so inhospitable. Why don't you join me for dinner next week?"

He smirked. "So I'm forgiven for the mouthwash?"

She chuckled. "For now. There are things you and I should discuss when we are both of sound mind, and free of headaches."

Taking her other hand in his, he kissed the top of it. "Agreed."

Roughly two months after the wedding, Octavio met with Tiberius privately. "What have you brought me?" the premiere asked.

Octavio showed the man a grouping of pictures that he had developed himself. "They look alike. I couldn't believe it, so I took pictures."

Tiberius eyed the mess of tall blondes, short brown-haired women, and scruffy men with suspicion. "What have you heard?"

"I was able the blend in with their people because everyone thought I was from a different ship. These… others are called 'Cylons' and they are part human, part machine," Octavio explained.

"They've double crossed us," Tiberius growled.

Octavio's brow furrowed. "Do you think they could be responsible for the increasing ground tremors?"

The premiere clenched his fists as his rage began to boil. "I wouldn't put it past them. Find me that two-way radio device that they gave us."

"Sir, did you want to address the Legislature on this matter?"

He shook his head. "No. I want to let those Colonials know that we know first."

Most of the Colonials had moved down to the planet's surface, a few remaining onboard ships to decide what should be done with them. _Colonial One_ remained the meeting place of the Quorum while their own cities were still under construction, and _Galactica_ was still home to Bill, Laura, Saul, and Caprica.

After formally resigning as president, Laura had taken a new position as counselor to the president, a job which required regular meetings with Lee, but not the Quorum. She and Lee sat on the couch in the quarters that she shared with his father, going over the civilians' progress.

"As you can see, the basic housing units are almost completed. We should have running water down there in a couple of weeks," Lee mentioned.

"I'm glad to hear that. I've talked with your father and he's still not sure what he wants to do with the fleet's ships," Laura stated.

Lee nodded thoughtfully. "Even though the rest of the Cylon forces were wiped out when the Hub was destroyed, he'll probably want to keep a few ships around for patrol. Have you had a chance to look at the weather system report?"

She sipped her glass of water as she thumbed through a few other folders. "I haven't quite finished it yet, but Chief Tyrol's report was one of the more interesting ones in the stack. The weather system is part of an environmental management program, using caves under the planet's surface. I have to wonder, if the original founders who landed on Terra Prime two hundred years ago used the caves for that, I wonder what other technology of theirs remains."

"I wouldn't be surprised if they had stuff hidden all over the place," Lee commented.

Suddenly the phone rang. Laura reached over to get it. "Adama." She caught Lee's smirk out of the corner of her eye. Since she had married Bill, Laura took great delight in answering the phone with her new last name.

Bill's voice sounded tense on the other end though. "Laura, we've got a problem. The premiere is demanding to speak to us. Much as I hate to give that paranoid dictator time of day, something tells me that if we don't talk to him, it could be bad news."

"I'm guessing that he's coming here and it's me that he specifically plans on yelling at the most," she responded.

"He's not speaking with you alone. Lee and I will both be there."

The meeting occurred one hour later in Adama's quarters. Lee fixed the blue tie of his pinstripe suit for the fifth time. "That's becoming a bad habit," Laura teased.

"At least I'm not breaking pencils," Lee joked, noticing the two halves on the desk in front of her.

She brushed a few crumbs from the pencil off her crimson skirt. With a matching jacket and loose black blouse, her pregnancy was not as visible as long as she remained seated at the desk. A moment later the hatch opened and the admiral stepped through, followed by a scowling Tiberius. He looked directly at her. "Why didn't you meet me?"

Folding her hands on the desk in front of her, she looked back at him calmly. "It's been a long day, Tiberius, and I'm tired. Furthermore, I'm no longer the president."

Tiberius looked from her to Lee, then to Adama. "You tricked us."

Lee stepped forward. "Premiere Blackwell, would you mind being more specific?"

Glaring at him, Tiberius turned back to Laura. "We let your people stay on our planet. You had the audacity to unleash numerous amounts of technological depravity. You sit there calmly, knowing full well what you have done. Don't deny it. I had spies. You let those things you call 'Cylons' invade my planet!"

"Tiberius, I sincerely apologize for any deception or betrayal that you might feel. Knowing your hatred for technology, the only way to allow them to live on the planet as well was to mix them with our own people," Laura explained.

He shook his head, the color red once again seeping into his face in his rage. "That's not good enough, Roslin! You deliberately allowed robots onto my planet. From what little I understand of your people, you left some sort of disaster caused by these same robots, so why are you helping them?"

Laura took a deep breath. "You've made a valid point. I should explain that the Cylons currently with us have rebelled against their own kind, wanting to help humankind. It has taken us years to come to these conclusions, but because you have asked, you will _listen_ to what I'm _telling_ you. Difficult as it may be to accept, they are people. They have chosen to be people instead of machines. They only live one life, like us. They can reproduce, like us." She tried to ignore Adama's raised eyebrow at her statement as she continued. "They have thoughts that are their own, emotions, dreams. They have flaws, like us. They make mistakes. My point is that despite what so-called intelligence your spies have collected, the truth is that they really aren't so different from us."

Tiberius snorted. "Some of your own people don't even believe that."

"You're right, but the fact remains that they are people, who actually have their own representatives," she continued.

"In two weeks, I have my annual meeting with the Legislature, which includes my chairmen and representatives from the other three continents. You have two weeks to get these… these… Cylons off my planet before I throw your own people out. You've been nothing but trouble since you arrived!" he spat.

"We fixed your weather system," Lee pointed out.

"And while you were down there, you probably initiated the earthquakes we've been having!" Tiberius retorted.

Laura took a pencil and jotted down a few ideas. "Tiberius, perhaps it would be best if you met with their leader. We could all discuss the matter on _Galactica_ like civilized people."

The premiere rolled his eyes. "I don't care what their _leader_ is programmed to tell me! Why should I listen?"

"If we find the source of your earthquakes, will you agree to listen?" Laura offered.

Tiberius paced back and forth a few times. "The last time made a deal with you, I ended up with robots on my planet. Give me one good reason why I should trust anything you say."

She folded her hands on the desk again. "Because right now, we have more weapons than you do."

He scoffed. "You'd nuke your own people?"

At that she lost her patience and stood, just enough to press her hands onto the desk, not standing straight up, her slouched possition serving to hide her condition from the premiere. The others in the room recognized that she meant business. She looked at Tiberius over the top of her glasses. "No. But if you force my people to leave, I don't have a problem nuking yours."

Tiberius snorted. "Unfortunately, you signed a treaty."

"Which will only function if all parties agree that peace is the intended outcome and the best solution. If you recall, both sides made agreements that day. We spied on you, we got caught, and we apologized. You spied on us, and now you come here threatening us. We have fixed what we promised to fix in order to stay on that planet. We've honored our part of the deal. Can you say the same?" she countered.

The premiere studied her face, then glanced over at Lee, as if looking for confirmation on how serious she was. The younger man nodded and Tiberius slowly looked back to Laura, as if understanding where he stood with her for the first time. "It seems that I may have made a miscalculation. I will agree to speak with the Cylon leader."

He left shortly, allowing Lee to escort him to a Raptor. As he left, Laura meandered over to the couch easing herself down into the comfortable leather. "That man is beginning to annoy me."

"I had no idea," Bill teased. Then he turned serious as he handed her another glass of water. "Would you really nuke those people?"

She took a sip of water, closing her eyes for a moment. "No, but I wouldn't mind aiming for his house. What do you suppose will happen when D'Anna finds out that the Cylons aren't welcome on Terra Prime?"

Bill joined her on the couch. "She's not going to just pack up and leave. Those two will likely fight like the children we know them to be."

"It's strange that he has no security detail," Laura pointed out.

"On the planet he has spies. Maybe he doesn't need one," Bill suggested.

Laura smirked. "Or maybe no one wants to volunteer."

He smiled back. "That too."

She shifted as the baby moved. As she placed her hand on her abdomen, Bill looked at her with concern. "It figures that when I'm tired, she's active," Laura commented, taking one of Bill's hands so that he could feel the baby kick.

He raised an eyebrow. "How do you know it's not a boy?"

"Dream," she said simply.

"What if it turns out to be one of each?" he mentioned, taking his hand back.

She crossed her arms, glaring at him. "William Adama, if I'm having twins, you are never allowed to sleep again."

He threw his hands up in defense, chuckling lightly. "I surrender."

Scooting closer to him, she kissed him softly. "You're lucky, Mr. Adama, that you can put me in a good mood."

Framing her face with his hands, he returned the kiss soundly. "And I like the way you've been answering our phone, Mrs. Adama."

In that moment the rest of the world was pushed outside as they had what could pass for a normal quiet dinner, a reading session, and a trip to bed.

(A/N: When I watched "The Hub," I thought that the bad Cylons had all died. I was surprised in the later half of season 4 to see that it wasn't true. In my story the bad Cylons were destroyed when the Hub was blown up)

(My thanks to WonderfallsOnDaisies, McGonagallFan, RonWeasleyissmiling, carolann, and Mythtern13 for reviewing :D)


	17. Crossfire

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel. For fun, I decided that Tauron had Westerns.

Chapter 17: Crossfire

Cottle had just finished setting a broken leg on his early shift when his two-way radio crackled. He grabbed it, heading into his office. "Cottle."

"Jack, I know exactly how busy you are, but I have a problem," Morgana's voice told him. He had momentarily forgotten that he had given her a radio.

"Thanks to you and your staff, it's getting less busy," he stated.

"Unfortunately I don't know how long they will be able to stay there. You see, something unexpected has occurred," she began.

"Quit beating around the bush and spit it out," he groused.

He heard her take a deep breath on the other end of the radio. "I've been fired. Blackwell told me that I had been working too closely with your people. Apparently he went to speak with the admiral and the former president yesterday and came back more irritated than when he left. He barged into my office this morning, told me that I was fired for suspicion of sedition, and that I was to pack up my office."

Cottle sighed. "I'm sure that there are other medical practices that would be more than glad to have you-"

"No, you don't understand! He has me blacklisted, meaning that I cannot be hired on this continent," she exclaimed.

"What about the rest of the planet? You'd have to work with other languages but it is an option. What about a private practice?" he suggested.

"That won't do. Private practices have been outlawed. Hospitals are like companies on this world and in order to practice medicine, I need to belong to one of them. That isn't the only problem. I could lose my house over this mess!"

_Why today? What did I do to deserve having to deal with a hysterical woman at this hour of the morning?_ "Alright Morgana, first of all you need to calm down-"

"I know I must sound like some sort of basket-case, and I'm so sorry to bother you with all of this, but I don't have anyone else to talk to, and at the moment my being fired may affect how much aid your people receive."

An idea formed in his mind. "Why don't you come up here for a couple of days and we'll sort this out? I'll send a Raptor for you and meet you at the docking bay."

"Do you think the admiral will mind?" she inquired.

"Just trust me on this one," he told her. After his conversation with Morgana, he called the admiral. The clock by Cottle's desk read 0530. _He's going to love this one_, the doctor thought to himself.

Bill and Laura were curled up together in his rack, sleeping peacefully when the phone rang. Laura poked his shoulder. "Morning, what's going on?" he mumbled.

"Your phone in interfering with a perfectly good night's sleep," she retorted.

They both sat up as he reached for the offending object. "Adama."

"It's Cottle," the doctor began.

"This had better be important. I'm going back to my earlier question for you, don't you ever sleep?" Bill questioned.

"I had an early shift this morning. Look, I know I woke you up, but you know I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't important," Cottle reminded. "That asshole of a premiere fired Mor-Dr. Sorenson. I told her she could come up here for a couple of days to sort things out. This could affect how much aid those people on the planet are willing to give us. Apparently you and the former president really got under that man's skin yesterday."

The admiral cleared his throat to banish the last vestiges of sleep. "She can come up here. I'm sorry he fired her."

When Bill hung up the phone, he met Laura's inquiring gaze. "Who got fired?"

"Blackwell fired Sorenson because of us, so Cottle wants her to sort things out up here," Bill explained.

Laura sighed, walking over to the closet to look for an outfit. "Poor woman. We've really done her no service. We've invaded her life and now we've probably ruined it."

"I don't know about that. She called Jack, which probably means she'll be staying with him," he mentioned casually.

She smirked and shook her head. "Bill Adama, sometimes you have a dirty mind."

"Just being realistic. In all seriousness though, I'm not surprised that she got fired. The man only keeps people around when it's to his benefit," Bill stated, heading toward the shower.

"Let's just hope he doesn't notice her sudden departure from Terra Prime to _Galactica_," Laura reminded.

Morgana had packed and sealed several boxes of files, deciding that leaving them with Cottle might be safer than taking them to her own house. As she cleaned out the bottom desk drawer, the top her hand brushed something that felt like paper. She moved to peer inside of the drawer and spotted an envelope taped to the inside top of it. Removing it, she noticed that it was labeled "Important," but the word was in the old language of English instead of Greek. She decided to translate it later, leaving the office to wait for the Raptor.

Helo retrieved her, as well as several boxes containing her files. When she arrived at the docking bay, Cottle stood on the deck, waiting for her. "Didn't expect this many boxes," he remarked.

"I didn't want to leave them at my house. They contain sensitive information that I wouldn't leave to just anyone. The microfilm machine that you've already seen is in the boxes as well," she explained.

He saw hesitance and confusion in her face as she neared him. Not being a man of public displays, he wondered what she would do as she stood and looked into his eyes. One of her hands moved toward him, but then she stopped herself. "Where am I staying?"

By speaking she had broken the moment. "I can find guest quarters for you, if you would like, or you can stay with me."

She snorted. "I think guest quarters would be more appropriate, don't you?"

The next hour was spent getting her boxes into the guest quarters, which happened to be down the hall from him. After stacking a few of the boxes, she glanced over at him. "Thank you. I hope I haven't taken you away from Life Station for too long."

"Someone would've come looking for me if things had been that busy. Why don't you join me?" he invited, moving a box so that the military-standard couch was visible.

"It won't exactly take my mind off things, not with all these boxes here," she responded.

He raised an eyebrow and realized that they were talking about two different things. Then he chuckled. "I meant that you could join me in Life Station."

She laughed too. "You're probably right. Later I need to use a text scanner that I brought with me to translate a document I found."

They walked to Life Station, continuing the conversation. "What's a text scanner?"

"It's a small hand-held oval device that could be mistaken for a magnifying glass with a wide handle. However, the handle portion is a mini-language database so that the text you read through the clear part of the device looks like whatever language you need," she explained.

"How did that sort of technology survive with your planet's leadership dragging everything back to the stone age?" he probed.

She smirked. "Some things, Doctor, are kept for necessity. Having people on the planet with different languages requires some sort of translation."

While Morgana and Cottle headed to Life Station for a day's work, Bill and Laura sat in the conference room, preparing for the arrival of their guests. "I've got a bad feeling about this. D'Anna might just decide to shoot him," the admiral remarked.

The former president sighed as she sat down, her dark blue dress suit hiding her condition slightly. "Then we have everyone check their guns at the door."

"This is starting to sound like an old Tauron Western," Bill grumbled.

Laura smirked. "Yes, all we need is some Ambrosia and we've got ourselves a regular saloon."

He leaned down to kiss her on the cheek. "Wishful thinking."

A moment later, Lee entered the room followed by Tiberius. "This had better be good," the premiere stated as he took the seat indicated to him, at the other end of the conference table.

"Oh, it will be," Laura assured him, glancing over as Tigh walked into the room followed by D'Anna. With a quick nod to the admiral, the colonel left to resume his post in CIC.

Adama and Lee sat close to Laura, as if protecting her by proximity. Lee spoke first, taking charge of the discussion. He first gestured to Tiberius, then to D'Anna for introductions. "Premiere Blackwell of Terra Prime, please meet the Cylon representative, D'Anna." The two leaders quietly glared at each other. "As we all know there is a problem between our people on a few basic levels of communication."

"Technological, or ethical?" D'Anna chimed in.

Lee chose to ignore the comment. "Our current conflict is that Premiere Blackwell does not want the Cylons on Terra Prime. He has given us two weeks' notice to remove them. The purpose of this discussion will be to find a better solution to the problem."

D'Anna looked from the humans she knew to the one she didn't. "Who are you to judge how right or wrong the Cylons are? What exactly is the problem?"

"The problem is that I don't want robots on my planet," Tiberius retorted.

The Cylon leader rolled her eyes. "The Centurions aren't living down there with us. They're staying on our ship because they would rather be in space than on the planet."

Lee cleared his throat. "I don't think he meant the Centurions."

"So the robots have robots? This just gets better," Tiberius spat.

D'Anna narrowed her eyes at him. "Do you mean to say that you think I'm a robot?"

He folded his hands in front of him. "You're mechanical, programmable, organic properties or not, that makes you a robot."

The Cylon leader looked to the former president and the admiral. "You two have got to be joking if you seriously expect me to deal with this rat. I expected better from you. You've actually managed to find someone more narrow-minded than the two of you were when we first met."

Lee sighed, trying to act as a moderator. "Obviously we are not going to agree on several things. What we need to agree on is whether or not the Cylons can stay on Terra Prime, and how to have them stay there without bothering the premiere or his people."

"Fine. I don't trust these people, so why should I trust you?" Tiberius grilled D'Anna.

She stood, placing her hands on the table in front of her. "We have done nothing wrong. You act as if all technology is a personal offence to you. We can't help what we are, just as you can't help being an obnoxious rodent."

He stood as well. "Bionic woman."

"Ignoramus," she growled back.

"Will both of you please sit back down and act like adults? This meeting is not about what you two think of each other," Laura reminded.

D'Anna looked back at her. "I am defending my rights as a person. This pompous, arrogant-"

"You're calling me 'arrogant?' 'Person' is a relative term," Tiberius spouted, stepping closer to her.

"They may have signed a non-aggression treaty with you, but I didn't. All I am asking is for my people to exist on your sorry excuse for a planet," she argued.

"Threats? You people pull the oldest trick in the book and expect me not to think that it's programmed? If I don't do what you say, you're going to blow me up. She's said the same thing," he stated, pointing to Laura.

"The should never have bothered dealing with you. Obviously your IQ matches your shoe size and your social skills aren't much better," D'Anna retaliated.

"Every thought, every action of yours is from a program," he stated.

She glared at him. "At least I have thoughts. You were right about one thing though; the term 'person' is relative, and right now you don't qualify!"

"Someone should've written a silence program for you. My life was just fine until all of you people appeared! Suddenly I have a civilization begging for a piece of land, and then they bring technology that I don't want. If you really think anything you say is going to sound relevant to me, than go ahead and try!" he growled.

"You obviously don't want to comprehend the world past your nose. Why don't you just frak off and do us all a favor?" she tossed back.

"What the hell does that mean? I should've known that I'd only get nonsense out of a machine," he poked. At her scowl, his lips curled into a leering smirk. "Oh, did I push the wrong button?"

A loud slap seemed to echo in the room as her hand came into contact with his face, leaving an angry red blotch on his pale skin. "You're nothing. You're not a man, you're a frakking rat."

He grabbed her wrist. "Grasping at straws, like a typical woman. Did you run out of decent insults?"

"Enough!" Adama barked. They jerked their heads in his direction, then backed away from each other.

Tiberius looked back at Laura. "We're done here, Roslin. You've got a week and a half." Lee stood, walking him out of the conference room.

"I'm done too. Obviously there are some situations that even old favors can't fix," D'Anna remarked.

Later after Tigh had escorted D'Anna from the room, Laura ran her hands through her hair. "That could have only gone worse of someone had shot him."

"That was quite a colorful argument. Between you and me, I wasn't sure whether they were going to kill each other, or kiss," Bill mentioned.

Laura smiled. "I was wondering the same thing. She won in the end though."

Bill offered Laura his arm as they stood to exit the room. "How do you figure?"

"He called her a 'typical woman.' What was meant to be an insult ended up as an admission in her favor," Laura clarified.

They reached their quarters and headed toward the kitchen to make lunch. She watched him with a bemused smile as he boiled some of the noodles acquire from Terra Prime. "Aren't you still on duty?"

He turned his head toward her, his brow furrowed. "It's been so slow since we arrived here that I don't think anyone will mind if the admiral has a lunch break."

"You just don't want to face D'Anna if she calls back suddenly," Laura stated.

"That too," he responded, stirring the noodles.

Laura picked up a pan and began to make sauce. "I've been thinking, we won't be able to stay on _Galactica_ indefinitely, not with so many of the crew already on the planet. Do you think, assuming that things will settle down with the politics of it, that we'll be able to move planet-side eventually?"

He sighed. "I'd like to think so. You'd have to keep a low profile for a while, of course."

"If we ever resolve this mess with the premiere, I'll be more than happy to keep a low profile." She rested a hand on her abdomen. "I'm worried about a few things though. I know that there is something I'm supposed to do beyond what we've already accomplished, and the baby has something to do with it. I just wish I had a better idea about what it is."

He placed a hand on top of hers, then leaned in to kiss her softly. "I know you'll figure it out. You always do."

After lunch, the admiral returned to his shift while Laura looked over a few reports that Lee had given her. The rest of the day remained uneventful and Bill started reading a new book with Laura after dinner. As he got halfway through the second chapter, she yawned. "I think it's time you went to bed," he told her with a warm smile.

She yawned again. "Maybe you're right. Do you know if Dr. Sorenson ever got settled in?"

"No. I think I'll give Jack a call and find out." Bill headed to the phone and tried a few times while Laura dressed in her pajamas.

"If he's not in his quarters, did you try Life Station? Honestly, that man is glued to his job sometimes," Laura suggested.

"I can't get a hold of him. I'll just have to check on her myself. I know where the guest quarters are that he'd probably want to put her in," Bill decided.

"He's always up early. Maybe he goes to bed early to compensate," Laura remarked as she wandered over to the rack. "I might be asleep when you get back."

"It's fine. You need your rest," he replied.

Another yawn sneaked out. "I knew that I would be eating for two, but I never realized I'd be sleeping for two."

He chuckled. "Just one more surprise."

While Bill was leaving his quarters, Cottle was helping Morgana unpack. "What are all these files for? I thought you'd leave the patients' files for whoever shows up for the job next."

She stacked a few files, arranging them in her own categories by content and date. "Half of what you are looking at are files for medical procedures, especially the more complicated ones. If I need to look something up, I want the information with me."

"Fair enough," he responded. She reached into another box to remove a black duffle bag with a handle. "Dare I ask what sorts of files you keep in there?"

Morgana rolled her eyes, slinging the bag over her shoulder. "Doctor, what's in this bag goes in the bathroom. I did bring a few personal items with me."

"In that case, you'd better warn me about which boxes I should avoid poking around in," he relayed with a smirk.

She laughed. "Good point. The two boxes by me now are for me to unpack only." Opening the two boxes, she knelt down to take inventory of what she had brought. He heard a shuffling sound over his shoulder and turned to see her tossing pairs of pants out of the box. "Drat. I left some of my blouses back at my house. Oh well, I'll just head over to the bathroom and set my toothbrush out."

As Morgana left the room, Cottle heard a knock at the door. He opened the hatch, surprised to find the admiral standing there. "Bill, is there something I can help you with?"

"I was wondering if Dr. Sorenson got settled," the other man responded.

"I've got it covered. I thought she'd be staying for a couple of days. Looks more like she's moving in, but it's mostly files," Cottle told him.

"I don't mind if she's here. It'll probably end up being a good idea to have someone like her with us. She can work…" Bill trailed off, seeing something behind Cottle.

Then they both heard Morgana calling from the bathroom, "Jack, did you see where I left my towel?"

Bill cleared his throat. "Sorry to have bothered you, Jack. I'm sure you can handle things."

The admiral sauntered down the hall before Jack could correct him. The older doctor glanced behind him and saw the pants on the floor. Morgana wandered out of the bathroom a moment later as Cottle closed the hatch. "Was that the admiral?"

"Yeah. He wanted to make sure you were settling in," Cottle answered.

Morgana opened another box and removed a set of towels. When she turned back to Cottle, he was frowning at the pair of pants still on the floor. "What's wrong?" she asked innocently.

"The admiral saw your pants on the floor, then he heard you asking for your towel. He took off halfway down the hall before I could tell him that this wasn't what he was thinking," Cottle explained.

She smacked her forehead. "Oh my gosh, I am so utterly stupid sometimes! I'm sorry about that. Next time I will answer the door."

"It's a good thing he and I are old friends. He'll probably tell the former president about this and they'll have a laugh at my expense," Cottle grumbled with a smirk.

Morgana crossed her arms in front of her. "Oh, rub it in. I'm just a bad influence on you up here."

"I can think of worse things to be. You're not a Cylon, the premiere, or a certain crazy scientist I used to know who talked to himself; so you don't have much to worry about. We're you going to read some document later?" he reminded.

She nodded. "I was, but I can't recall where I put it. I know it's late, but would you mind helping me look for it?"

"You can't get me into much more trouble than you already have," he acquiesced.

Half an hour later, he had found an envelope mixed in with her chiropractic files. "Morgana, I think I found what you're looking for. It's got a word on it in another language."

She had been looking around on the floor, under the couch. "That sounds about right. I'll just- oh drat!"

He set the envelope down on the fold-out kitchen table and walked over to her. "What's the problem?"

"My hair it stuck in the underside of the couch!" she exclaimed. "Ouch! How am I supposed to get out from under this thing?"

Sitting down on the floor next to her, he reached over by her hair to find where she was caught. "Hang on, I might be able to get it without scissors."

"'Hang on?' Doctor, what does it look like I'm doing?" she retorted.

"Sorry, poor choice of words." After untangling some of her hair and detaching it from loose spring that it had caught on, he slowly pulled her up to a sitting position. "There," he paused and kissed the top of her head, "all better."

She blushed with embarrassment at needing his help. "Thank you, Doctor. I-" she sighed and shook her head, a bleak look sitting in her eyes as she faced him. "No, it's not all better. I've been fired. What do I do now? I don't know how to fix this. I'm sorry I'm such a mess today."

He stood and extended a hand to her. Pulling her to her feet, he told her "You might be a mess, but at least you're a cute mess."

"Cute?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

A grin sat on his face as he noted her irritation. He had not yet released her hand. "Yes, cute."

Her free hand found its way to his chest as she poked him lightly. "One of us has lost his mind."

His other hand slid to her waist as he shook his head. "Nope. We're both sober this time."

She smirked. "We are indeed. Just what are you suggesting that we-"

He did not let her finish as he kissed her soundly. They parted for air and he spoke. "I thought we'd finish that conversation."

"I talk too much, don't I?" she asked with a smile. He chuckled and kissed her again. Their kisses grew more passionate as his clothes joined hers on the floor while they moved toward the rack.

(I didn't mean to have so much Cottle/Morgana this chapter. The next chapter will have more Bill/Laura interactions. My thanks to WonderFallsonDaisies, carolann, McGonagallFan, and Mythtern13 for reviewing :D)


	18. What dreams may come

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel. The title is taken from Shakespeare's _Hamlet_, Act 3 Scene 1.

Chapter 18: What dreams may come

_Laura was following the red-haired girl again, whom she now recognized as her future daughter. The girl led her into the opera house, as before, but as they kept walking, the walls transformed from the shiny golden ones of the opera house, to an earthy brown-orange color. Though the arches remained, the area took on a rocky, cave-like appearance. The girl ran over to a large triangle on the stone floor. At one corner, Laura saw Hera. A blonde girl sat in the other corner, and the red-haired girl seated herself at the top corner. _

_As she walked closer to the scene, Laura noticed that all three girls were playing jacks. However, they were not playing the game by the usual rules. Instead of letting the ball bounce once and trying to pick up as many jacks as possible, the girls bounced the ball a certain number of times that differed between the girls. The number of jacks differed as well. When each had bounced the ball a certain number of times, the girls scooped up the entire collection of jacks. Laura filed the numbers of bounced and jacks in her head as she continued to observe the scene._

_Caprica and Athena appeared in the room, stepping over to claim their daughters. Holding Hera, Athena stood on the corner of the triangle. Caprica followed her example, then looked to Laura. "The Three Sisters Prophecy must be fulfilled. We are one people, or we are nothing." Then the room around her began to shake._

Laura gasped and woke herself, squirming to sit up quickly. Her movements woke Bill, who had curled up next to her when he returned the previous night. She breathed a sigh of relief that he was with her. "Laura, what is it? Are you alright?"

"I had the dream again, but it was different. It wasn't in the opera house, but a cave. And there was a triangle on the floor and it's going to take me a while to figure all this out," she explained.

He glanced at the clock behind him. "Why don't you head over to the shower while I make breakfast?" She nodded, pondering the dream as the spray of warm water hit her.

Later when she had dressed, she found a cup of coffee and a plate of what looked like Aquarian toast with syrup were waiting for her at the desk. She sat down to take a bite. "Mm, Bill, this is fantastic."

Smiling over at her from where he sat on the couch, he replied "It's something that the humans here call 'French Toast.' Funny how much it reminds me of Aquarian toast."

"I was thinking the same thing. So what happened when you went to see if Dr. Sorenson was settled last night?" Laura inquired.

Bill choked a little on his coffee. He responded after having cleared his throat a few times. "Let's just say I think I interrupted something."

She raised an eyebrow. "'Interrupted' how?"

"Well, I found Jack there and a bunch of boxes behind him. Apparently she brought a lot of files with her. But then there was a pair of women's pants on the floor and then I could hear her voice from the bathroom asking if he had seen her towel," Bill admitted.

Laura laughed heartily. "What did you do after that?"

Bill took a sip of his coffee. "I ran the other way as fast as possible."

"You could have misinterpreted what you saw," she reminded.

He shrugged. "I didn't want to stick around long enough to find out."

She drank some of her coffee. "Regardless of what you did or didn't interrupt,_ we_ still have to see him today."

Bill took a bite of his toast. "We?"

Laura rolled her eyes. "Yes, _we_. Don't tell me you forgot already. The ultrasound has been scheduled for a week."

"This business with the premiere and the Cylons has me a little distracted. About what time is it for?" he inquired.

"0800. Then you have the rest of your shift and I have another meeting with Lee. He and I will try to find a way to diffuse the situation between ourselves and the premiere. At the very least, D'Anna will have more to say on what should be done. Mind you, I'm not taking suggestions from her, but she is the Cylon leader and she might have an idea we hadn't considered," Laura relayed.

"At this point in time, she'd probably tell us to nuke him and forget it," Bill commented with a smirk.

Laura smiled back. "You're probably right, but I'm still hoping for a civil answer."

Later as they entered Life Station, Bill and Laura noticed several of Morgana's people leaving. Having seen them by the door, Morgana headed over to the admiral and former president. "Hello Madame President, Admiral. Is everything alright?"

"For us, yes, and it's just 'Laura' these days. We came for an ultrasound that was scheduled," she stated. "Why are your people leaving?"

Morgana folded her hands in front of her. "Since I was fired, they have been recalled. The only consolation is that there seem to be less injuries up here to treat these days."

"I'm sorry to hear about that. You seem to be helpful up here though," Laura told her.

Morgana smiled politely. "I try. I'll tell Dr. Cottle that you're here. I am glad the two of you stopped by, actually. I found a file that you may find very interesting."

She disappeared behind a curtain, leaving Bill and Laura to stare after her. A moment later she returned with Cottle. "Well this is a first. Usually I have to phone ahead to get you two to show up."

"I wasn't going to let this be forgotten. Dr. Sorenson mentioned a file though," Laura reminded.

"We'll talk about that in my office after we finish the ultrasound," Cottle responded.

Morgana raised an eyebrow. "Your bedside manner could be improved."

Cottle leaned close to her and whispered, "That depends on whose bedside I'm at."

She blushed. Laura smirked, having overheard him. He led them to one of the beds and retrieved the monitor. Once everything was set up, Laura and Bill watched as an image materialized. Bill stood on one side of Laura while Morgana took the other. "The baby looks normal. Everything seems to be fine," Morgana remarked.

The other doctor nodded. "Growth rate is normal and the heartbeat is strong. She moved a lot too."

"Yes, I know she's rather active- wait, you said 'she'?" Laura asked.

"We're looking at a healthy baby girl," Cottle answered.

Laura looked over at Bill. "You owe me five cubits."

"I was hoping you'd forgotten about the bet," Bill grimaced.

She chuckled. "I don't forget much, Admiral. Lucky for you I collect my payment in book chapters."

Bill grinned and kissed her warmly. After the equipment had been put away, Cottle ushered Bill and Laura into his office, with Morgana following. He closed the door and Morgana lifted the envelope from his desk. She removed a stack of papers, handing them to the others. Laura thumbed through them, her brow furrowing. "I can't read these."

"They're in English," Morgana began. "English used to be one of the dominant languages of Western culture. When the wars ended and the people of Earth went their separate ways, the group that came here not only froze technology, but also went linguistically backwards. The leaders of that time thought that going back to the root languages would bring humanity back to its beginnings, back to a time of what they considered to be fewer complications. Personally I don't understand that decision, but if we had been speaking English, then we wouldn't have understood your people."

Cottle cleared his throat. "Tell them what you found."

Morgana rolled her eyes. "No patience at all with you." She turned back to the others. "These documents are dated fifty years ago. A doctor from the other humans returned to us."

"How come he didn't get caught like my people did?" Bill inquired.

"According to the documents, no one knew of it because of the lack of technology. The doctor, whose name I have made out to be 'Gardener,' kept a low profile and no one had any reason to suspect that he wasn't a native to this world," Morgana replied.

Laura raised an eyebrow. "I think the bigger question is what he was doing here."

"He was part of a small group who knew the truth about Terra Prime. I was not even aware of what I'm about to tell you until I read this file. Technology has been made to adjust the weather system, but far more modifications were made to the nature of the planet that I was ever aware of. In order to make the planet habitable, the humans had to reform not only the weather, but also the seismic activity," Morgana mentioned.

"So this might have something to do with the tremors that the premiere was complaining about?" Bill supposed.

Morgana nodded. "Precisely. When they found the planet, they saw that it could support life, but in order to build shelters the earthquakes would have to be neutralized."

"The planet with no technology has an artificial environment," Cottle added.

"A computer system that dealt with magnetic resonance was put in place, but it needed to be adjusted every fifty years. Apparently Dr. Gardener was not the only visitor to Terra Prime. But going back to his file, he established a new computer system in some of the caves on the planet. The directions are in the file. I suspect that he was worried if someone would make it back for the next adjustment," Morgana explained.

"I still don't get what specifically needs to be done every fifty years," Bill stated.

Morgana folded her hands in her lap as she perched on the edge of Cottle's desk. "It has to do with the configuration of the magnetic poles. The poles on this planet change more frequently than those of Earth. As a result, the magnetic resonance represses the seismic activity needs to be realigned to compensate for it. Gardener's computer was more than a standard computer though. Three sets specific number code needs to be put in so that the system can be accessed. The first allows access to the general computer. The second opens the grid so that the adjustments might be made."

"And the third?" Laura probed.

"That's where it gets a bit murky. As you can see," she pointed to the papers that Laura held, "the report digresses into sketches and equations."

Laura looked over the sketches, stopping when she came to a triangle. "Has anyone found this place aside from Dr. Gardener?"

Morgana sighed. "Honestly, it's the first I've ever heard of it. As I have mentioned, there are directions in the file though."

"Now that you know what the problem is on your planet, what are you going to do about it?" Bill questioned.

"Admiral, I wish I knew. The premiere probably will not believe me, nor am I inclined to show him any of this. The date given for the adjustment is next week. The only thing I do know is that if this does not get fixed soon, no one will have a planet to live on," she conveyed.

"I'll talk to Tyrol," Bill mentioned.

He and Laura stood. "While you do that, I'll have a chat with D'Anna and see if diplomacy on her end is still an option."

"Good luck with that," Cottle told her.

Laura used the admiral's office to contact D'Anna. After a lengthy pause, she heard D'Anna's voice over the wireless on the secure line. "Laura, I hope you have a good reason for this that includes strangling that wretched man that I met yesterday."

"I know you're upset, D'Anna. First of all, I apologize. His behavior was rude and inexcusable. I was hoping that together you and I could come up with a reasonable solution to-"

"Reasonable? Laura, the only reasonable way to deal with him would be to drop a few bombs on the man, if you could stoop to calling him a man," D'Anna interjected.

Laura took a deep breath. "As tempting as that is, we signed a treaty. Right now I'm trying to find a peaceful resolution to this mess."

"I signed no such treaty. There is nothing but my own good will stopping me from blowing that… that… idiot out of existence," D'Anna expressed.

"I realize that. Perhaps if you did sign a treaty-" Laura's attempt at persuasion crashed.

"If I have to deal with that man again, one of us will not be leaving the room alive!" D'Anna yelled before ending the connection. Sighing, Laura made her way to CIC.

Bill had finished talking to Tyrol as she entered the room. "How did it go?" he asked.

"Absolutely lousy. She's got half a mind to nuke them and is only refraining from doing so by 'her own good will' as she put it," Laura told him, running a hand through her hair.

"Sounds like we might be looking at an all-out war if things can't be settled," Tigh mentioned, having heard her. He, Hoshi, Gaeta, and Dee were the only ones on duty that day, since people had slowly been moving down to the planet. They were aware of Laura's condition, but none of them realized the implications.

"I'll welcome any suggestions you have, Colonel," Laura stated.

"We fixed something they needed. Have the Cylons fix something they need, or find a way to get some damned good blackmail," Tigh replied.

Bill nodded. "As much as I like the idea, things aren't that simple. I've got Tyrol and his men looking for those other caves. With any luck, they'll find something that we can use as leverage."

Laura glanced at the viewscreen, her gaze focusing on the planet that should have been a comfortable home. She reached back to rub a persistent ache out of her neck. "Gentlemen, if you don't mind, I'm exhausted and I still have a meeting with Lee in two hours, so I'll be leaving."

As she began to move away, Bill wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her softly. "I'll be home for supper."

She smirked at his domestic act. "I'll have it ready."

His gaze followed her until she had left. "Pathetic," he heard Saul say.

The admiral turned to give Saul the 'Adama glare,' but both men ended up chuckling instead. "So when are you going to marry the woman staying in your quarters?" Bill goaded him.

"She doesn't want to get married until after the baby's born. I don't know how to be a parent! I don't even know what to name the kid," Saul grumbled.

"Unfortunately it's one of those 'learn as you go' things. No one's ever ready, myself included," Bill responded.

As Laura walked down the hallway to Bill's and her quarters, she found Caprica at the door. The blonde woman looked pale. "Caprica, are you alright? How long have you been standing here?"

Caprica rested a hand on her abdomen, her expression scrunching in pain. "I just walked here from Saul's quarters. It hurts. I never had pain like this before. I… didn't know who else to go to."

Taking a deep breath, Laura took Caprica's hand. "Come on. You're coming with me to Life Station. If you're in labor, you don't need to be standing in a hallway."

(A/N: Yes, the last verbal exchange between Bill and Laura was taken from the episode "The Oath." My thanks to Guardian Ghost, Mythtern13, McGonagallFan, WonderfallsOnDaisies, Whas' up, and carolann for reviewing :D)


	19. Adding

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 19: Adding

Cottle happened to glance over at the door as Laura entered Life Station with Caprica. "What's wrong now?" he asked her.

"Caprica might be in labor," Laura replied.

The doctor walked the blonde woman over to a bed. "You let me be the doctor here. Someone find me that ultrasound machine." Laura pulled up a chair to sit next to the bed.

Morgana appeared over Laura's shoulder, wheeling the machine with her. "I don't mind if you use my first name," she chided Cottle.

He rolled his eyes. "I requested an ultrasound machine, not an attitude."

"I believe you already have one of those, and it wasn't my fault," she threw back with a smirk.

Laura cleared her throat. "I don't mind if you two flirt, but we do have a situation here."

Morgana blushed while Cottle turned back to Caprica. He applied the gel to her abdomen and began the ultrasound. She took Caprica's pulse. "Hmm, the baby's already changed position. You're in labor alright," Cottle relayed.

Caprica faced him, worry etched into her face. "But isn't it early?"

"It is a little early, but the baby should be fine. This is the first Cylon/Cylon pregnancy and we should consider that we're in unknown territory," he responded.

Laura stood. "Someone should call CIC."

Panic appeared in Caprica's eyes as another contraction hit. "No! Please don't go!"

"I'm only going to the phone," Laura told the other woman.

"Don't be long. Her blood pressure seems to do better when you're around, strange as that might sound," Cottle mentioned.

Laura walked over to the far wall where the phone was. "Bill, it's Laura."

"What's going on? I thought you were resting," he inquired.

"I ran into Caprica in the hallway. Tell Saul she's in labor. She wants me to stay with her," Laura explained.

"But you're alright?" he questioned.

"I'm fine. I need to go. She was very upset by me leaving just to use the phone," Laura added.

"Alright. I'll call Lee and see if he can come by another time," Bill suggested.

"That would be good. I'll see you later," she ended.

In CIC, Bill turned toward Saul after Laura had hung up. "You need to get down to Life Station. Caprica's in labor."

Saul ran a hand over his balding head. "Frakking lousy timing."

"At least we're not getting shot at," Bill pointed out.

"I need a drink," Saul muttered to himself as he headed for Life Station.

He arrived to be dragged over to the other side of Caprica's bed. Laura sat on the left side, holding one of Caprica's hands. The blonde woman grimaced in pain as another contraction hit. Saul sat down in the other chair. "I'm here."

Caprica smiled weakly at him. "This hurts and I don't want to be alone."

Laura looked up as Morgana came over. "How much longer do you think?"

"It will probably be several hours. Fortunately she's our only patient that needs any attention at the moment," the doctor mentioned.

The blonde woman faced Laura. "I don't know how to do this."

Laura ran her thumb over the back of the other woman's hand. "Neither do I, but it'll be alright. You're in good hands here and there's no need to panic."

Caprica shook her head. "I didn't mean labor. I don't know how to be a mother. I never had a mother, and Cylons are born adults. They don't have child-sized Cylons on the base ship."

Saul kissed her other hand. "I don't know much about being a father, but we'll learn together."

"Thank you," she told him before turning back to Laura. "What's it like to have a mother? What does a mother do for you?"

Laura smiled warmly. "A mother takes care of you when you're sick. She makes sure that you eat healthy food. She sees that you learn good manners. Some mothers help their children with school work. Mothers also read to their children. It helps stimulate the mind, and it helps get them interested in reading. Parents, in a general sense, protect their children and teach them right from wrong. Parents also pass along cultural traditions and stories. For example, you know how to sew, therefore you can teach that to your child."

"I forgot that you were a teacher. I'm still scared that I'll do a bad job though," Caprica commented.

"Everyone is. You will make mistakes along the way. You can't get through life without making mistakes. But you learn from them, and a lot of times you learn with children. As they learn something to help them grow, you'll learn something about them. For better or for worse, children will always surprise you," Laura explained.

With her free hand she rubbed the bridge of her nose. Saul turned toward her. "Laura, since Caprica is probably going to be here for quite a while, why don't you go home and get some rest."

Laura turned toward Caprica. "I really do need to rest. Will that be alright?"

Caprica nodded. "Saul is here. Thank you for staying for a while."

The former president left, heading to her quarters. Once inside she did not see Lee sitting on the couch, but slipped her shoes off and laid down on the rack. Lee wandered over. "Laura, are you okay?"

She sighed and sat up. "I had completely forgotten about our meeting. I have had a very long day. I had to talk with D'Anna, and then when I came back here to rest I found Caprica in the hallway, in labor. I got her to Life Station and then she didn't want me to leave for a while."

Lee put up his hands. "Rescheduling is fine with me. Maybe we can meet tomorrow during lunch."

"That sounds good," she said with a yawn. Though tired, she realized as her stomach growled that she was also hungry. After eating an algae sandwich, she laid back down and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

The next time she woke, it was when she felt a familiar weight on the bed. She blinked to see Bill, who had sat down next to her. "Hi."

He smiled at her, brushing her cheek with his thumb. "Hi."

She sat up, moving to put her legs over the edge of the bed. "How long have I been here?"

"Cottle said you left Live Station about six hours ago. I called him to make sure that you got some rest, but he told me you'd already left," Bill explained.

As she was sitting to his left, she curled her right arm around his left and leaned into him. "Caprica didn't want me to go at first, but then Saul dropped in. Speaking of which, don't you have to cover his shift?"

Bill kissed the top of her head. "I just took a quick break to find you."

She looked up to kiss him soundly. "Actually I should be going back to Life Station to check on Caprica."

He leaned back against the wall and pulled her over to him. Then he kissed her deeply. She moaned as his hands roamed over her back. He had one had in her hair as they parted for breath. "You should stay here and rest."

Extricating herself from him, she giggled. "This is rest?" she asked, gesturing between them.

"In a manner of speaking," he protested.

Still laughing, she shook her head as she stood. "I can't today, and neither can you. Both of us are too busy."

Sighing, he stood and straightened the blankets. "Don't forget to take care of yourself."

"I'm fine, Bill. Caprica is scared and for some odd reason, she has decided to look at me as a mother figure. I want to help her," Laura remarked.

He acquiesced, walking over to the hatch. "I suppose dinner's off then?"

"I can see you moping, though you don't think you show it. I promise that I will still make dinner," she told him.

He gave her a half-smile. "How about we move that to tomorrow?"

She grinned back. "Alright, I can live with that."

As they walked through the hatch, he had one more point to make. "Admirals don't mop."

Laura snorted. "Bill mopes, and you're not getting out of it because I saw you moping."

As Laura returned to Life Station, Cottle spotted her and sauntered over. "I was just about to call you. Caprica's been asking for you."

Laura rushed over to sit next to the blonde woman. "You're back!" Caprica exclaimed.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner. What can I do?" Laura asked.

"Just be here please," Caprica requested, gripping Laura's hand as another contraction hit.

Saul glanced at Laura from where he still sat, in the chair on the other side of the bed. "I had no idea it took this long."

"I hate to tell you, but this isn't long. First pregnancies can take much longer than this," Morgana stated, checking Caprica's blood pressure.

Fortunately two hours after Laura had returned, Caprica gave birth to a healthy baby girl. As the infant was handed to her, she smiled at Saul. "I think I have the perfect name. Since it's a girl and we can't call her 'Liam,' we can name her 'Wilhelmina.'"

Then she let Laura hold the baby. Wilhelmina looked like a normal human baby, though she was small. As she looked down at the infant, Laura felt a hand on her shoulder. "Congratulations Saul, Caprica," the familiar gravelly voice behind Laura said.

Laura handed the baby to Bill. "They named her 'Wilhelmina.'"

Bill smiled down at the infant and handed her back to Caprica. "It's a good name."

As the two men exchanged grins, Laura rolled her eyes. "Stop pretending like you didn't know they named the baby after you."

He chuckled. "Did they?"

"That honor is only reserved for my best friend," Saul mentioned.

Bill cleared his throat. "With that out of the way, I think I'll take my wife home. We've got dinner waiting."

Laura stood, smiling as she looped her arm through his. Just before they were out of Life Station, Caprica called out, "Her middle name is going to be Laura."

When they reached their quarters, Bill spoke. "They're naming her after both of us."

"I'm not sure how I feel about that," Laura responded. As she slipped out of her shoes, she noticed two plates of noodles already on the coffee table. "This looks good. Thank you for making dinner."

He unbuttoned his uniform jacket and took a seat on the couch. "It seemed like a good idea at the time."

They settled down to eat. Laura did not speak again until all of her noodles were gone. "I think they'll be alright, Caprica and Saul. It's almost a miracle that Cylons can now have children with other Cylons."

Bill sipped his water. "All life is a miracle."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "I thought you didn't believe in miracles."

He set the plate back on the coffee table and patted her right arm. "Let's say that circumstances have changed my mind."

Unable to resist, just as she was when she asked him what made him believe, she continued, putting her plate next to his. "Such as?"

"You here with me, cancer-free. You agreeing to marry me. You carrying our child," he told her with a grin.

She leaned toward him and kissed him soundly, sliding the jacked off his shoulders. His hands ran over her back as he returned the kiss passionately. "Bill," she whispered hoarsely.

They stood together, kissing ardently, hands roaming freely. Somehow they found the rack. With another intoxicating kiss, they were soon in the rack and the rest of the world was forgotten.

Both of them were still in their bathrobes after their morning showers when there was a knock at the hatch. Bill opened it to find Lee. "You're early."

Lee stepped inside, noticing his father's attire, as well as Laura's while she sat on the couch. "I'm sorry. I just wasn't thinking. With you two being married, I need to call ahead first."

Laura chuckled lightly. "One of these days you'll have children to walk in on you, so I'm not really bothered. Sit and have some coffee."

The younger man took the mug that Bill handed to him and joined Laura on the couch. "I was only thinking that you'd want to get the reports out of the way quickly."

"I'm going to get ready for my shift," Bill remarked, leaving the living room area.

Laura looked back to Lee. "It's fine. I understand. By the way, Caprica had her baby yesterday."

Lee handed her a few folders. "That's good. What's the name?"

"Wilhelmina Laura," the former president told her with a grin.

He smiled. "Somehow I'm not surprised."

When they had finished going over reports, Laura decided to visit Caprica. She entered Life Station as Saul was leaving. He gave her a nod and a smile. When she reached the blonde Cylon, she saw Athena and Hera sitting to the right of her bed, facing her. Caprica was holding her sleeping infant. The Cylon spotted Laura and waved her over.

Laura smiled at her and then Athena. However, Athena's expression was one of shock as Laura sat down in a chair to the left of the bed. "Madame President! You're..."

"Actually it's just 'Laura' these days. Lee is the president," she corrected.

"But you're...," Athena leaned over the bed to whisper, "pregnant."

Laura smirked. "I'm aware of that, thank you."

Athena paused, thinking of how to word what she wanted to day. "With all due respect, Ma'am, that shouldn't be possible."

The former president nodded. "Under normal circumstances, you would be right."

Before Athena could ask again, Hera wandered over to Laura. She placed a hand on Laura's abdomen and said one word. "Cousin."

All three women blinked in surprise. "I didn't know she knew that word," Athena admitted.

Caprica turned to Laura. "Perhaps it's time to tell her."

Nodding, Laura faced Athena. "Think back to the dream we've all been having. The red-haired girl is very clearly my daughter."

"If that means what I think it does, then you have a problem," Athena assessed.

Laura leaned closer so that the conversation could be kept as quietly as possible. "It means I'm the last of the Final Five."

"Wow, I wasn't expecting that. The dream does mean something more though, doesn't it?" the dark-haired Cylon reminded.

"Since we're all here, we might as well try to make sense of things. There has got to be some kind of numeric significance with the balls and the jacks. The first sequence, with Hera was five bounces and six jacks. The second, with Caprica's daughter, was four bounces and fifteen jacks. The last sequence had nine bounces and eight jacks. Do any of those numbers mean anything to either of you?" Laura questioned.

As they were thinking, Hera walked over to Athena and tugged on her sleeve. "Mommy, it's my birthday."

Athena smiled at the girl and shook her head. "No, sweetie. Your birthday's not for another month."

"Mommy, it's my birthday," Hera insisted.

Laura's eyes widened, realizing what the girl meant. "She means the date. That's the day and the month of her birthday, the sixth day of the fifth month. The bounces of the ball mean months while the number of jacks mean days. Yesterday was the fifteenth day of the fourth month."

"But what do the numbers mean? What are they for?" Athena questioned.

Folding her hands in her lap, Laura sighed. "I don't know."

In a brown-orange cavern, Tyrol and his crew had been mapping other caves past the ones containing the weather controlling equipment. As his flashlight blinked, he looked toward one of the specialists. "Do we have enough batteries?"

"Yes, sir," the other man said, reaching into his pocket and handing two batteries to Tyrol.

"I just hope we aren't getting lost down here," Tyrol muttered as he tested the flashlight's beam.

They turned a corner and found a curtain of spider webs. "I wish we'd quit running into these," another specialist commented.

"Be grateful we haven't found the spiders that made them," Tyrol called back.

As they found themselves in a bigger room, Tyrol nearly tripped over a square mass by his feet. He shined the flashlight on it, finding it to be a generator of sorts. "What's a generator doing down here?"

Receiving no answer, he shined his flashlight over the rest of the room. The beam of light froze on the center as he stared in astonishment. On the floor was a stone triangle, and in the middle of the triangle was a podium. Tyrol slowly approached the podium. "What the frak is all this?" he wondered. Brushing cobwebs aside, he came face to face with the blank screen of some sort of technology.

He reached into his pocket, pulling out the two-way radio. "Admiral, I think we found something important."

(I'm sorry this took so long to post. I was busy. My thanks to , carolann, WonderfallsOnDaisies, and Mythtern13 for reviewing :D)


	20. Making deals

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 20: Making deals

Laura reached CIC, having walked from Life Station when the admiral had called her. "Bill, what is it?"

He looked over at her as she reached the table in the middle of the lower deck. "I think Tyrol might've found that cavern we were looking for."

The radio in his hand crackled again. "Sir, we're looking at some sort of computer. I think I found a button to turn it on, but I'm not sure what it will do. I don't know what it might affect," Tyrol's voice told him.

In the cavern, Tyrol told one of the other technicians to hold the flashlight while he brushed the cobwebs from what was actually not a podium, but a large computer console with a screen on the top, facing up like the console on a ship. The button he had mentioned was a large green button two thirds of the way up from the bottom.

"Give it a try," the admiral told him.

He pushed the button and heard the circuits crackling and the square generator humming. "I think I've got something. I see numbers and words that I can't read. It looks like it's booting."

One of the other technicians tripped over something long. "I think this place has snakes."

The chief rolled his eyes, shining a flashlight in the area. "They're just wires, coming from the generator we found when we walked in."

As they continued examining the equipment, the room shook. "That's the third time these caves have done that within the last two hours," one of the other technicians said.

He turned back to the screen, seeing a box appear. Inside the box was a blinking green minus sign. "I think I need some sort of password," Tyrol told the admiral.

Bill looked back at Laura. "What was it that Sorenson told us? That there were number sequences involved in this thing?"

"We should ask her to join us. She might be able to help with this," Laura recommended.

Morgana entered CIC, holding the folder. "What's going on?"

"We thing we've found the cavern," Laura mentioned.

"The chief needs a password. You said something about number sequences," Bill reminded.

Morgana nodded. "Yes, but I have no idea what they would be," she paused to find the later papers of the document, pulling them out. "They're not on any of my information."

Laura spotted the paper with the triangle again. "Do you know what this means?" she asked Morgana.

The doctor shook her head. "I wish that I did."

The former president reached for the radio. "I might have a few numbers for you to try."

Bill raised an eyebrow. "Dream?"

She nodded. "I was talking to Caprica and Sharon and we've figured out what the numbers in my dream refer to, birthdays. Since Hera was first, it's fitting that we try her birthday first," she explained quietly to Bill. Then she turned back to the radio. "Try five and then six."

He brushed the dust from what looked like the keys. The number area looked different than what he was used to, but he could still identify the numbers. He did as she had suggested. "It didn't work."

"Try five, zero, six then," she recommended.

This time he put the numbers in and another screen came up. "I think I'm into the main computer screen, but I can't understand any of this. It's in a different language."

"I suppose I should go down there. I have something that lets me translate text. Perhaps it could help with this," Morgana commented.

Bill cleared his throat. "There's another flaw to this idea though. If this is the computer mentioned in that report, how are we supposed to know what corrections to add in to fix the magnetic resonance?"

Laura paced for a moment. Then she turned back to him. "We may not be able to do it, but I bet the Cylons can."

"I'll let you call them," he told Laura.

She groaned and reluctantly headed to the admiral's office to make the call. "D'Anna, I might have a proposition for you," she began.

"Does it include catching a certain rat of a leader in a painfully embarrassing trap?" the other woman questioned.

Laura smirked. "Wishful thinking, I'm afraid. However, this does have to do with you and your people staying on the planet. There is a computer that controls the earthquakes on the planet. The earthquakes are controlled through magnetic resonance that has to do with the poles. Certain calculations need to be made every fifty years that adjust the magnetic resonance in response to the poles."

"I think you may have lost me, Laura. What do you think the Cylons can do?" D'Anna asked.

"The Cylons or the computers on your ship might be able to calculate what the adjustments need to be," Laura explained.

She could hear D'Anna's skepticism in her tone. "Do you really think that this is a big enough bargaining chip so that the rat will let us stay on his planet?"

Laura sighed. "I can't be certain of that, but it might buy us time, and right now we need more time."

D'Anna was silent for a while. Just when she thought that the Cylon had left, D'Anna spoke again. "Alright. I need to go down to the surface to look at the computer system to see if we can do anything."

"That's fine," Laura added.

She walked back out to Bill and Morgana. "D'Anna's willing to take a look. I believe we need to organize a group to head down to the surface."

"I'll bring my text translator. It should be useful," Morgana interjected.

Laura smiled. "Then it's settled. I'll take a group of Cylons including Athena, Dr. Sorenson, a-"

"No. You're not going down there. It's too dangerous," Bill interrupted.

She sighed. "But Bill, I want to see this for myself. I need to know if it's what I've been seeing in my dreams."

"Athena can take pictures for you. I will not risk your life down in a cave before we've fixed the problem of the earthquakes. I should have more reservations about letting anyone go down there, but we have a political issue that outweighs reason at the moment," he argued.

His wife ran a hand through her hair. "I do see your point, but I really think that I need to be down there."

"No. Not right now." He leaned closer to her and whispered, "In case you've forgotten, you're pregnant and right now that puts you at risk not only for the usual physical reasons, but also for the Cylon reasons."

She looked up at him to study him. "Alright, you win this one. However, we also need to bargain with the premiere to let the Cylons stay if they fix his problem."

"That might be a tough one. He's got problems that can't be fixed," Saul chimed in, causing Bill and Laura to chuckle, easing the tension in the room.

Later that day D'Anna, Athena, a few more Cylons, and Morgana waited by a Raptor in _Galactica's_ docking bay. Cottle handed Morgana her duffle bag, which contained not only the translating device, but a camera. "You be careful. Much as I hate to admit it, I've appreciated your medical expertise in Life Station."

She snorted. "So you'd only miss me for my skills as a physician?"

He rolled his eyes. "I think we both know better than that."

Taking a quick step toward him, she kissed him. "Yes, Doctor, we do."

They boarded the Raptor, piloted by Athena. While the Raptor made its way to the surface, Laura called the premiere on the two-way radio. "Premiere Blackwell, this is the former president of the Twelve Colonies. I have something that you might be interested in."

He picked up the radio, calling Octavio into his office before answering it. "What is the meaning of this? Are you asking me to speak to your robots again?"

"Tiberius, have you had any earthquakes lately?"

"You know we have."

"What if I told you that we could fix your problem?"

"You mean the one you caused?"

"We didn't cause your earthquakes, but if you let the Cylons stay, they can fix the problem."

He set the radio down and looked across his desk to where Octavio sat. "What do you think?"

"As your Senior Chairman, I think that you should consider it. We should let them fix our situation, and then we can find something later to remove them from our planet. It will give us time to gather proof against them. Right now we do not have enough information. Give me a little more time and I can have enough to get rid of not only the Cylons, but those Colonials. Sir, they have been a thorn in your side. I can convince the Legislature to get rid of them," Octavio recommended.

Tiberius sighed, weighing his options. "I don't think we can do that. If there's one thing I have learned about these people, it's that they will do whatever it takes to ensure their survival, especially if we do not honor the deals that we make. Roslin is not to be underestimated."

"You've let a woman who is no longer their president worry you?" Octavio pointed out.

The premiere shook his head. "She wields more power than we first realized. She controls the military through the admiral, the civilians through her stepson who is now president, and the Cylons through negotiations. Somehow she is the link between everyone and whatever deals we make with her, we must honor."

Octavio sighed in frustration. "Then this is a fool's errand because you've already made up your mind. We are talking about having robots on our planet. If the people realize what they are, they will want access to the library under-"

"I know. However, I fear their nuclear capabilities more than our people's curiosity. Curiosity can be redirected to other projects. It would not be that difficult to restrict the Colonials and their robots to a second-class status, keeping them only in their own city," Tiberius mentioned.

The other man smiled darkly. "Turning our people against theirs without the use of force? I suppose if we make them uncomfortable enough, they won't want to stay here."

"All we would need to worry about then is defection. Losing Dr. Sorenson to them was bad enough. Having them win people to their side will be a problem, but if we convince the masses that these new people are different and need to be isolated, then curiosity can be kept at bay, and we no longer have a problem," Tiberius hypothesized.

"You are a genius sir, a very worthy leader," Octavio stated.

"Being a leader is about control, Octavio." Then Tiberius turned back to the radio and pushed the correct buttons. "Roslin, you have a deal."

(My thanks to WonderfallsOnDaisies, carolann, and Mythtern13 for reviewing :D)


	21. What must be done

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 21: What must be done

Tyrol met the Raptor as it landed and directed everyone into the cave. When they reached the computer, he looked over at Morgana. "I don't believe we've been introduced. I'm Chief Tyrol."

Morgana politely extended a hand to him, and then to D'Anna. "I'm Dr. Sorenson and I'm here to help you translate the computer."

"This should be interesting," D'Anna muttered.

The doctor walked over to the computer and set her bag down on the ground. While she reached for the translation device, Athena got the camera and began snapping pictures of the room. She paused when she noticed the triangle, inhaling sharply. "Is something wrong?" Morgana asked.

The dark-haired woman shook her head and continued taking pictures. "Nope."

Morgana turned her attention back to the computer, placing one had along the dusty console. She moved the translation device over the screen. "I think that's the file you want. It's on the desktop. It says 'seismic activity management.'"

"How do we access it?" Tyrol inquired.

Running her fingers over the panel, Morgana looked for a touchpad. She found the gray square, moving her index finger in it to see a white mouse arrow on the screen. "It's right here."

She placed the mouse arrow over the 'seismic activity management' file and pushed a button on the touchpad to click on it. A box appeared on the screen with another blinking minus sign. "When it does that, I think it wants a password," Tyrol told her.

Nodding, Morgana radioed _Galactica_. "Admiral, Laura, we need another password."

"Try four, then fifteen," Laura stated, recalling the second sequence from her dream.

Morgana inputted the numbers. The box disappeared and she saw a graph with numbers, as well as a picture of a rotating planet. "It worked. Now we just need to make sense of how to do the calculations."

D'Anna stepped forward to look over Morgana's shoulder. "I won't need my ship to solve this. It's a basic equation using the rate of the planet's rotation with its axis, the proportion of how much the poles' magnetic fields change in a year multiplied by fifty, and the frequency of seismic activity."

"Did you hear all that?" Tyrol asked the former president and the admiral.

"Yes. Did we understand all of that? Not exactly. Kindergarten math wasn't quite that complicated," Laura's voice mentioned over the two-way radio.

As D'Anna made the adjustments, the shaking stopped. "We seem to have solved the problem, but I can't figure out what the third code would go to. I wish that Dr. Gardener had completed his reports," Morgana commented.

"We'll deal with that later. The important thing is that the planet's government made a deal that they have to honor," Bill added.

The group returned to Galactica as Laura told the premiere about what had transpired. Reluctantly he agreed that the Cylons could move down as well, but they were restricted to stay within the Colonial settlement for the meantime. Over the next two months, the Colonial settlement finished constructing homes and public buildings. The planetary government even helped them build a wall around their city to delineate what belonged to them.

At first, their efforts appeared genuinely helpful. It looked as though the regular citizens helped in the construction of the wall and then left the Colonials to set up their own society. They had enough resources to be self-sufficient and began adjusting to their new home. Laura and Bill were still reluctant to move down to the planet, but they had a house set aside for them that they used four days during the week.

Settlement and reports discussing the settlement had taken so much of Laura's time that she had not had a proper moment to look over the pictures that Athena had taken of the cavern, which was actually on the property of their settlement. She was pulling filed out of a box, that Bill had insisted on carrying for her, when the photos fell out of a report. She took them back to the couch to study them.

Bill entered the room with a mug of coffee in his hand. "Coffee sure grows well here. Did you know that our people can grow five varieties of this stuff? It's as if- what have you got there?"

Laura glanced up as he walked over to her. "I forgot all about the pictures that Athena took of the cavern." She patted the couch and waited for him to join her before continuing. "That's the console that they used. And that's the generator to run everything. It's a strange room. And I still have no idea why that triangle is on the floor."

He drank a gulp of coffee. "Hmm, what's it facing?"

"A wall. See, this picture is of the wall, and everything in there is just covered in cobwebs," Laura pointed out.

"That may be true, but I think there might be something on that wall. You see where the cobwebs hang diagonally? It looks like the webs ran into something," Bill stated.

She raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you know so much about cobwebs?"

He smirked. "It's not about the cobweb, it's about the angle."

"Care to investigate with me? I could use a walk," she persuaded.

"Not in broad daylight unless you're in disguise. Laura, curiosity can't excuse the fact that you and I are trying to hide something," he reminded, resting a hand on her growing abdomen.

Despite being six months pregnant, they had managed to hide her from public view by making trips at night, if at all. She sighed. "Bill, I'm so bored. I love having our books here, but I want to see that cavern."

A knock interrupted their discussion. Bill rose to answer the door. As he opened it to find Lee, he waved his son in. Lee nodded to both his father and Laura as he walked over to her. "We have a problem."

"Sit. What's going on?" Laura asked.

Lee sat in the chair across from her, setting a paper on the coffee table before resting his hands on his knees. "There are people at the gate, just ordinary citizens, that don't want our people leaving our city to enter theirs."

"So we've got a few hecklers. We've dealt with worse," Laura mentioned.

The younger man shook his head, giving her the piece of paper from the coffee table. "This is a flyer telling people not to hire Colonials, or what they are calling 'copied people.'"

Bill cleared his throat. "It sounds like we've got two problems then. First off, it looks like the government is using propaganda against us. Secondly, they're trying to keep their people in the dark as much as possible regarding the technology of the Cylons."

"But what do we do about it? The government here is forcing us to be isolated. We were too busy building our city to see it sooner," Laura pointed out.

"The Quorum is meeting to discuss it. I know you won't be there, but I wanted to keep you informed, in case you had any suggestions," Lee told her.

She nodded. "Thank you. I hope you and the others can find a solution to this."

Lee stood. "I'll tell you what they decide."

After he had left, Laura contacted the premiere on her two-way radio. "Tiberius, we need to talk."

"Having problems adjusting to planet life, Roslin?" he asked.

"Only because you seem to be turning your people against mine," she retorted.

He chuckled. "'Turnabout is fair play,' Roslin. You tricked my people, and we tricked you. I think this makes us even."

Her contempt for the premiere began to boil. "This does no such thing. Surely our people can learn to work together-"

"I think we're done here. Goodbye," he said snidely before she heard the radio click off from his end.

Sighing, she looked back at Bill. "Our people are going to be nothing more than second-class citizens on this planet unless we find a way to convince the general population out there that we're not the enemy."

"It's too bad they don't have television," he commented.

She began to pace the room. "There has to be something we can do."

"I'm going to find Dr. Sorenson. Maybe she can tell us something about the media on this planet," he remarked.

Using the two-way radio, he contacted Cottle, who passed his radio to Morgana. "Admiral, what can I do for you?"

"How is news distributed on Terra Prime?" he asked her.

"By newspapers and radios. The press members here are rather voracious when looking for stories. If you wanted information distributed, all you would have to do is contact the nearest radio station. That particular station shares the building with one of the continent's main newspapers," she explained.

"Thank you," he ended. Then he looked back to Laura. "If we start asking their media to spread positive news about us, things might look better."

Laura shrugged. "It sounds reasonable. I just wish that there was something I could do now."

"I need to find Saul and ask if anyone's been openly hostile. We might need our own marines around the city if the premiere's people are threatening our people with physical violence," Bill relayed.

Bill walked to Saul's home, a few blocks away. He knocked on the door, smiling politely when Caprica opened it. "Admiral, it's good to see you. How is Laura doing?" she asked.

"She's fine, just restless," he replied, stepping inside. "I need to speak with Saul. Is he home?"

Caprica turned back to the baby in an infant seat on the couch. As she sat down, she looked back to Bill. "He's in the kitchen."

The admiral proceeded in the direction of the kitchen, stopping when he spotted his XO leaning over the table, flipping through reports. "Site rep," Bill stated.

Saul looked up with slight smirk on his face. "It looks that way, doesn't it? I've got stacks of complaints from our people, and the Cylons. Instead of giving them to Lee, they dumped the reports on me."

"Do any of the reports say if our people have been physically threatened?" Bill inquired.

The other man shook his head. "I haven't seen anything like that, but it wouldn't surprise me of something comes up. Apparently they've said some pretty nasty things to the Cylons."

"We've got to put a stop to this before someone gets hurt. One wrong move might cause a war. This wasn't how I pictured joining the rest of humanity to be," Bill expressed.

"How's Laura taking it?" Saul probed.

"Not well. I just hope she doesn't try to go off on her own and do something stupid. I should get back to her. Keep me posted if anything else comes up," Bill remarked, heading for the door.

"Yes, sir," Saul responded.

While Bill had gone off in search of Saul, Laura had dozed off in a chair. _She was once again in the cavern. The three girls sat on the triangle, playing jacks again. However, this time she noticed that the triangle was indeed pointing to something on the wall. She walked over to it and cleared the cobwebs off to find a small box. It contained a key pad and enter button. She pushed in the numbers from the last number sequence and suddenly the wall slid back. Beyond the wall was a stairway_. _Then she heard a voice say, "You must show them unity. You can give them peace_._"_

She woke, hearing Bill turn the key and open the front door. "What did Saul have to say?"

Bill sat on the couch. "People are complaining, but there hasn't been physical violence yet."

"I had a dream. I really think that we need to go back to the cave," she stressed.

He opened his mouth to talk her out of it, but then saw the sincerity in her eyes. "Grab a coat and a hat. Put the coat on over your hair," he recommended.

She left the house with him in her disguise. Fortunately people too busy to notice them. They reached the cavern and stepped inside. Laura pulled her jacket closer as the cool hair settled against her. Like in her dream, she walked over to the wall with the awkwardly hanging cobwebs and brushed them aside. Seeing what looked like a keypad, she inputted the number nine, then zero, and eight. Once again, her dream became real as the wall slid back, revealing a stairway.

"I'll go first, in case we run into any booby traps," Bill said protectively.

Laura nodded as they stepped into the stairwell. They had only gone up five steps when they found themselves walking on a long flat expanse. After a while they found more stairs. The stairs stopped at a ceiling hatch with another keypad. Laura tried the third code again and it opened. Bill moved ahead and then offered Laura a hand, pulling her into a new room.

They looked around to see boxes of files scattered around. Long desks with several computers lined the walls. "Bill, what is all this? I thought the people here didn't have this kind of technology."

He studied the computer units. They were simply monitors with boxes under the desks and mice sitting on pads on the top of the desks. He noticed that they were also still plugged in to what looked like a power strip. "Let's find out where we are first."

The room only had a few windows, all small and toward the top of the ceiling. At the far end of the room was a door. Bill tried the door, but it would not move. Laura wandered over to him. "It's locked, isn't it?"

Looking at the space around the door, he realized that the situation was more complicated than they had imagined. "Somebody sealed this door shut. By the height of the windows, I'd say we're in some kind of basement, but we're definitely not getting out of here by that door."

Laura glanced around the room for some clue of where they were. Then she noticed it on the wall next to a Periodic Table of Elements, above a rectangular device with a flat plastic extension, which held paper. "Look Bill! It's a floor plan. We're in the basement of a public library."

"Why go through the trouble of sealing all of this off?" he reminded.

"It might be to keep technology away from the people. Somebody went to an awful lot of trouble to make sure that nobody found this place. From the few papers we've seen in here, I can see notes for inventions, even though they're in what Sorenson called 'English,'" she pointed out.

He bent down and flicked the little red switch on the power strip. Then he pressed the button in the middle of one of the computer unit boxes. "I think it's time we got some answers."

As the system booted, she placed a hand on his arm. "Bill, what if someone can trace what we're doing?"

"Judging by the looks of things, nobody's going to look for us here, at least not for a while," he reassured her.

When the main screen came up, it had the blinking minus sign, asking for a password. Laura tried each of the three number sets. "I have no idea what the password is. None of these are working. I think it wants something longer."

"Why not try all of them together?" Bill suggested.

Laura typed on all three number sets and the computer screen changed. On a blue backdrop icons appeared, as well as a bar at the bottom. They realized then that it was in English and not Greek. "This could be a problem. Now what?"

"Maybe there's a way to change the language on the screen. What's that bar for? The Start menu? Try that icon that looks like a mouth," he mentioned.

When she clicked on the mouth, a long list of languages appeared. They found the one that looked familiar and clicked on it. Immediately the screen changed to the alphabet that they recognized. The date at the top of the screen was fifty years old. "I'm surprised that everything still works after fifty years," Laura commented.

They found a folder on the desktop marked 'Medical Project' and clicked on it. Entries from Dr. Gardener appeared on the screen as a detailed explanation for full-body prosthetic replacements. Bill and Laura continued searching the computer, finding reports about technology being stolen, similar to what Sorenson had shown them. There was also a file note about a danger of creating new beings if the process for generating prosthetic bodies were to be misused.

"He's talking about the Cylons, Bill," she remarked.

"Which means that the humans from Earth created them, or at least had the theory for creating them, as we already suspected," he added.

As she clicked on the icon of an envelope, she saw a list of messages. Clicking on one, her eyes widened as she turned back to Bill. "Look at the date on this one. It's the same date as the last transmission that Sorenson received. It confirms the successful complete-body transfer of five accident victims, on these dates. Five people who were human had their consciousness moved to a new body to save their lives. And there are attachments. Oh gods, Bill. Look!"

Right in front of them were the medical files of the Final Five, Laura included. He rested a hand on her shoulder. "I think we've seen all that we need to see. Let's go home."

She shook her head. "Not yet. We need to find out why this place was sealed off. Now there has to be something somewhere…" she trailed off, finding a note on one of the reports in front of her. It was from Dr. Gardener again, saying that he had to use the secret entrance to reach the computer because the government had banned the use of computers.

Laura and Bill stared at the name of the man who had been the premiere fifty years ago: Julius Blackwell. "I'll bet that's the current premiere's grandfather," Bill assessed.

Nodding, she shut off the computer. "It seems that his family has a history of hating technology."

"I think it's more than hating technology. He's been taking it away from the people to keep them uneducated about it," Bill remarked.

They began walking back toward the door and the stairwell. "But fifty years wasn't that long ago. You would think that someone out there would remember and say something."

"It's possible that we're dealing with a generation that didn't talk to their parents, or that the previous generations were kept quiet by some kind of force or threat," Bill assessed.

Laura walked ahead of him. "Surely the rest of the planet isn't like this. How would a person keep others from finding out about technology from the rest of the world?"

He sighed. "I think the answer is simpler than that. First of all, if each continent is self-sufficient, there wouldn't be much of a need for trade between them. Secondly, without the use of computers or a network, or even television, news here doesn't travel very quickly."

They did not speak again until they had returned to their house. "Bill we have to tell them."

"Tell them what, exactly?" he asked, pouring himself a glass of water.

She placed her hands on her hips, slowly pacing. "About the Cylons, that their own people started the technology. We have to find a way to print out the reports that we were looking at. Our people, their people, and the Cylons are all a breath away from war. It's the only way to bring everyone together. We have to show them that they're all linked."

He took a seat on the couch. "Just how do you plan on doing that?"

"By bringing their press, our press, and meeting with their planetary government, for starters," she said as she stopped pacing.

Standing, he eyed her with concern. "But that would mean they would learn what you are."

As she sighed heavily and closed her eyes for a moment, she felt the full weight of what needed to be done. "They have to. It's the only way to bring peace to everyone."

He adamantly shook his head. "No! You'll be hurt, or worse. I will not take that chance. You don't need to be involved in this."

_I wish that you understood. Will you ever truly understand what I have to do?_ She reached to touch his face, brushing her thumb along a few scars. "I have to do this. I am the one who is supposed to keep peace between all of us, and the best way to begin is to tell them what I am. I owe them some peace."

When he glared back at her, she could read the sadness in his eyes. "You don't owe them anything! Laura, you've been their 'Dying Leader' twice. You've led them to this planet. You owe them nothing. You owe yourself a chance to have a life," he paused, resting a hand on her abdomen. "You owe her a chance too."

"Bill," Laura whispered, "I love you, so very much. But she's a part of this as much as I am. I have to show them that we're all one people. I have to do this."

(My thanks to McGonagallFan, Mythtern13, and carolann for reviewing :D)


	22. Drawing battle lines

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel. Mr. Cantrell makes a cameo appearance.

Chapter 22: Drawing battle lines

Lee came by the house the next morning to tell Laura what the Quorum had decided. "They voted to contact the government, without the consent of the premiere, if it's possible. They don't want us dealing with him anymore and they feel that we should all talk, government to government."

"It's a good plan for starters, but the problem will be contacting the other members of a government that we know very little about," Laura pointed out.

"That's where Dr. Sorenson comes in. I'm sure she's got some ideas. At least she might know how to contact them," Lee suggested.

Laura looked over at Bill. "It's worth a shot," he remarked.

Though the continent had a telephone system, the colonials were having difficulty establishing the telephone lines. Bill used the two-way radio again. "Jack, is Dr. Sorenson there?" the admiral asked.

He heard a snort on the other end. "What kind of clinic do you think I'm running? Of course she's here. Hold on."

A moment later Bill heard Morgana's voice. "Hello Admiral, what can I help you with?"

"Can you spare some time to stop by?" he began.

"Is Laura alright?" she asked immediately.

"Yes. It's not a medical problem; it's a political problem, but I think you can help us. Let's just say that circumstances have changed," Bill mentioned.

"I'll come immediately," she finished.

While they waited for Morgana, Laura and Bill told Lee what they had found in the library basement. "So all this time Tiberius, and probably his relatives, have been keeping the people in the dark about their technology?" Lee inquired.

Laura nodded. "That pretty much sums it up."

Lee studied her. "You're planning something, aren't you?"

She folded her hands in her lap. "I'm going to tell their people, and ours, the truth about Cylon technology."

He raised a skeptical eyebrow in a gesture that reminded her of his father. "It sounds like you're about to put yourself at risk."

"I will do what needs to be done," she stated.

Before Lee could scrutinize her decision further, there was a knock at the door. Bill opened it and Morgana stepped inside followed by Cottle. "It was a slow day at the clinic, and I figured that if you're asking her to do something questionable, I might as well find out now," Cottle groused.

"We need to know how to contact the government, without the premiere's interference," Lee mentioned.

Morgana smirked. "Is that all? I can contact them by phone if I manage to get back into my office to find the phone numbers."

Cottle faced her. "I think I've got the perfect excuse too. Tell them there's some sort of cough circulating among the Colonials and you need to retrieve a book that could tell you if you've got an epidemic or not. I'll come with you to make it look convincing."

"I suppose we could try it," Morgana concluded.

Passing through the gate, they navigated the streets back to her office building. They paused just outside of the main doors. "You sure you can just come back here? Aren't you blacklisted?" Cottle asked.

Morgana looked around her before answering. "If Betsy is still working at the front desk, then there won't be a problem. Despite being fired, I should still have a few friends here."

They entered, walking casually so as not to create a disturbance. Only a few people glanced up. She approached the front desk and found a plump blonde woman organizing different clipboards. "Betsy, what are you doing?"

"I have to arrange Dr. Kishner's patients in alphabetical order, of course," the young woman replied. Then she looked up. "Dr. Sorenson! It's good to see you. What are you doing here though?" she whispered.

Morgana leaned closer. "We need to retrieve a book from my old office. Several Colonials have come down with some sort of cough and I need the book to see whether it can be seasonal, or an epidemic."

Betsy looked at the people sitting in the waiting room, and then she turned her head back and forth. "Dr. Kishner has been your replacement. He's an arrogant numbskull who hates filing. He also hates technology as much as the premiere. Because of those things, he hasn't been near your office. He demands that I organize all the patient files that are still in your office and put them in alphabetical order. And nobody's touched your computer, so your passwords will probably be the same."

"Thanks Betsy, you're a lifesaver," Morgana remarked, patting Betsy's shoulder before heading into the hallway, motioning for Cottle to follow her.

"Sounds like you've been missed," he told her as they walked along.

"Unfortunately being missed won't get my job back," she responded.

"I thought you worked out in front at a desk. I didn't realize you had a regular office."

"I felt that it was important to see what sort of patients arrive. I was working out front, but I cannot possibly store everything under the small desk that I was using. Strangely enough someone seems to have removed the desk. I suppose they found it to be an eyesore, out in front like it was," she stated, reaching for a door handle.

They stepped into her office, noticing the messy array of files. "What happened here? You're usually more organized than this," Cottle said, closing the door behind him.

She smirked. "Before I left, I vowed not to let my replacement have an easy transition. The files are arranged, but it's by body part, moving from the head to the feet."

He chuckled. "That was devious. It'll take them months to sort all this."

"Betsy knows about it, so it will only take weeks. I suppose they've been too busy with other things to start on it though, This office has been unoccupied for two months," Morgana commented.

"Never know exactly how people will use their time," Cottle added. "If all your patients' files are on paper though, why do you need a computer?"

She turned the computer on and let it boot. "Because a hospital has systems that need to be monitored by a master system. Do you remember when I scanned your president? The system and the files connected to it are stored on this computer."

"I thought you wiped that out," he commented.

"I took out her file. I have other equipment logs stored on here."

As she drummed out passwords and logged into her computer, he rested a hand on the desk, leaning next to her. "What exactly are you looking for?"

"Telephone numbers, Doctor. I have had certain chairpersons as patients. You brought the pen and paper with you, didn't you?" she asked. He nodded. "Write these down then."

She had opened a file containing phone numbers. He scribbled them down, then looked back to her. "Where will you call from?"

"This office," she replied nonchalantly.

"Wouldn't somebody be monitoring phone calls? And on that note, aren't there security cameras that will know we're in here?" he probed.

Smirking, she faced him. "That, Doctor, is the luck in this case of having a premiere who is terrified of technology. Security is much more relaxed."

He glanced at the door. "In any case, we shouldn't be here one second longer than we have to be."

"Agreed," she stated, picking up her phone. She dialed a set of numbers and waited. "Hello, Chairman Floyd Pliny? This is Dr. Sorenson, how are you? The liver still working well? Glad to hear it. Floyd, I need a favor. Yes, you heard correctly. I have been blacklisted. Ha, I know, but I wouldn't quite use that word to describe him. Listen, I need you to arrange a meeting. The Colonial government wants to meet with our government, without the premiere organizing it. Yes, I know. I know we will have to include him, but if you can organize it without him knowing initially – yes I think I can do that. Where? They've built a nice government building. We could use theirs. And I'm going to need radio and press coverage at this meeting. I know, I know, I'm asking for the world. Floyd, this is probably the most important meeting in our history or theirs. You will? That is fantastic. Two days? Thank you, I'll inform them myself. What was – oh, your wife wants a dental exam? If she's willing to put up with the trip, I can see her at the Colonials' clinic. Thank you. Goodbye."

Cottle raised an eyebrow when she hung up. "Did you get the answer you were looking for?"

"Yes. He will speak with the others and he says to expect a meeting in the Colonials' government building at ten o'clock, the day after tomorrow," she remarked, pulling a small floppy disc from a drawer and saving some of her computer files to it.

"Good. Now let's get out of here before we get caught," he reminded.

They quickly left the hospital and managed to pass into the Colonial settlement, reaching Bill and Laura's house without drawing too much attention. They passed along the necessary information and then Cottle returned to the clinic while Bill showed Morgana the library basement. She used the disc from her office to copy the files. Then she was granted access to some of _Galactica's_ computers in order to print the files that Laura had found previously. Lee contacted the Quorum and the meeting was officially arranged.

In two days' time, a few minutes before ten o'clock, Laura sat in the conference room while Bill stood next to her. He eyed the files that Morgana had given them. "You sure you want to do this? There's still time if you want to slip out and let Lee handle it."

She rested a hand on top of his. "I need to do this. It has to be me, or it won't work. I know that doesn't make much sense, but maybe you'll understand later."

"I'm going to make sure there is a later. We've got weapons checks at the door and you will not be seated anywhere near the premiere. It's too bad that he has to show up in order to legitimize this affair," Bill grumbled.

"It'll be alright," she breathed. As he left her side to take his seat, he wondered if she had said it as much for her own sake as his.

Lee led the Quorum in first. All of them smiled over at Laura. Several of them said how good it was to see her and how nice it was that she had so much color in her face again. A few even asked her how married life was agreeing with her. She blushed, telling them that "Since I'm not officially in office anymore, I do have a right to privacy these days, and so does the admiral."

The humor drained from her expression when D'Anna arrived, accompanied by a Six, an Eight, and a Two. "What? We were invited to this to prove ourselves, were we not?" she asked Laura.

"Of course. Please have a seat," Laura answered.

Then the other government arrived. Morgana entered first, followed by a group mostly composed of men. One white-haired gentleman with round glasses was talking to Morgana. She turned to face Laura, Lee, and D'Anna. "Mr. President, Madame Counselor, Ms. Biers, these are the Chairmen of New Plymouth. This man here is Chairman Floyd Pliny, third in line to the position of premiere."

Laura remained seated. "Hello Chairman Pliny. Thank you for agreeing to this meeting on such short notice."

"It was more a case of curiosity than any inconvenience, Madame Counselor. My people, specifically the ones gathered here today, have been told scant little of your people. Let us being with exactly who you are and where you have traveled from," the older man stated as his government took their seats.

She looked over to Lee for him to continue. "We are from the Twelve Colonies of Kobol. Our worlds were destroyed in a nuclear war and we went in search of a new home. We've spent the last four years searching for Earth…," he explained the struggle of their journey, as well as the addition of the rebel Cylons. "We are asking that our people not be ostracized because we support technology. We also ask that the Cylons be respected with the same regard that you would respect us. All we want is a place to live."

Chairman Pliny looked from Lee, to Laura, and then to D'Anna. "And what do you say?"

A small smile crossed the lone Three's lips. "Mr. Adama speaks very well. He once told me that just because something has happened before, does not mean that it has to happen again. There can be an end to war, and there can be an end to the mistreatment of others, if those in power take the right steps."

"And what steps would those be?" a familiar voice near the door demanded. Tiberius stalked into the room, followed by Octavio. "It took us forever just to locate this place! And all of you have started without me! Now you listen to a machine? Have we lost our minds to the flesh and blood that have held our society together since the term of my grandfather, the memorable Julius Blackwell? He's probably rolling over in his grave!"

Then he turned his wrathful gaze on Laura. "You! This was your doing! We are not giving your people one scrap more than we have already wasted. You went behind my back. I say what goes in my government! How dare you think that a meeting like this would solve anything! You are lucky that we let you stay here at all!"

Chairman Pliny stood. "Now see here, Tiberius, these people only want human respect. Couldn't we simplify this and just declare their land as a separate country? That way we could trade and they could keep their own government."

"I knew making you third was a mistake, but I allowed it because my father always spoke well of you," Tiberius spat. Then he turned toward D'Anna. "And you, why are you here? Ladies and gentlemen, she is a machine. Why are you listening to this? We have been safe from her kind of technology for decades, and you want to chance another nuclear war by letting it back in so casually?"

"Why don't you just shut up and listen for once in your life?" Morgana retorted.

There was fire in the glare he shot at her as he walked toward her. "You! You're the one that called them, aren't you? You should be in jail for trespassing because their telephone numbers had to have come from the hospital!"

He was only a foot from her, but Cottle stood in front of her to block him. "You lay a hand on her and I'll personally see to it that you leave this room, though you might be crawling out."

"Can't we just sit down and talk like people?" Lee spoke up, hoping to diffuse the situation.

Tiberius let a few obscenities slip under his breath as he took the only empty chair, the one next to the admiral. Laura spoke, looking at Chairman Pliny. "Your premiere has kept certain information from you for a long time. Are you aware that your weather is controlled by technology?" Her question was met by confused stares. "How about the earthquakes you were having for a while, did you know that technology controls those too? And I'll bet that the premiere has not told you that my people have fixed both, in order to bargain a way to stay on this planet."

Chairman Pliny looked over to the premiere. "Tiberius, is this true?"

He snorted. "You're willing to believe her over me?"

Laura turned to Lee. "Show them the pictures."

Lee passed the photos to the other government as Laura continued speaking. "That's not the only thing he's been keeping from you. Dr. Sorenson, I believe it's your turn."

Morgana nodded. "Thank you, Madame Counselor. As our history books tell us, some of our people remained on Earth while we looked for a new home. What is not common knowledge is that the group of people became space-faring and took their technology with them. The Head Doctor hear has always received transmissions from them. The logs were stored on microfilm and passed down from Head Doctor to Head Doctor, up until twenty years ago. Over the last fifty years, those transmissions included notes of piracy and theft, so bits of their technology were stolen."

Tiberius clapped slowly three times. "Bravo, Dr. Sorenson, you tell a fine story, but is there a point in there by chance?"

She resisted the urge to glare at him and continued. "The logs mentioned the ability to reproduce human organs, then human bones. Instead of having a plastic or medical prosthetic leg, a person could have a leg that felt real and responded as a real one. They were able to transplant to only organs, but limbs. According to reports that we have with us now, they were also capable of doing full-body transplants."

Morgana glanced over at Laura. The former president picked up the discussion. "There were five cases of these full-body transplants. At different times, your people assisted my people. These full-body transplants were used on five people as children to save their lives. The brain is the same, but the body has been recreated, or re-grown, with the potential for all human functions, even to the point of human diseases. However, a marker was left behind in these five, a homing beacon of sorts. It drew them back to Earth. Upon realizing what they were, or at least realizing their true purpose, the simulated body would purge itself of human diseases, becoming what it was intended to be."

Tiberius scoffed. "What are you talking about? How can any of you, from either government, believe this crap?"

Lee spoke to his government. "What we have been calling the Final Five are actually humans that have received full-body transplants. As for the current Cylons, they were created from stolen technology that originated on Earth."

"That's what he's been hiding from you," Laura pointed to Tiberius. "Show them the pictures of the library basement. Show them the door with the seal from his grandfather. He's known about that room for a long time, and he's been keeping all of you in the dark in order to control you. Your people and my people might as well be related, because we are all linked."

One of her Quorum members, Mr. Cantrell, cleared his throat. "Madame Counselor, if you recall, we only had four of the Final Five."

Laura passed the five reports to Lee, who handed them to the man. "There are Five," she said quietly.

"But we only know of four," Cantrell reminded.

"I assure you," she paused, glancing at Bill before she slowly stood, "there are five." Instant silence settled over the room as every eye stared at her, only four people previously being aware that she was pregnant. "Look at the last report, and you'll have your answer."

(My thanks carolann, Guardian Ghost, and McGonagallFan to for reviewing :D)


	23. The metal of a man

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 23: The metal of a man

Tiberius gaped at her for a solid five minutes before finding his voice. "You…" he paused to glance at the admiral, "and him, all this time. I suppose it would be pointless to ask who the father is. You really have stooped low. So you've been a machine this whole time too?"

Bill looked at the premiere like he was about to strangle him, but Laura put up a hand. "Not a machine, the recipient of a full-body transplant."

The premiere stood and scoffed. "Why should we listen to any of this? People like you are the reason why we've reduced the technology-"

Bill glared at him, also standing. "Will you just shut up one frakking minute?"

Tiberius rolled his eyes. "Your people not only have robots in delicate positions of power, but you seem to have ignored a crucial fact: your esteemed leaders are sleeping together. It's obvious that this has been going on for a while. What kind of sorry excuse for a government have you been running?"

Laura sighed heavily, resting her hands on the table. Then she looked back to Tiberius, glaring at him. Despite her irritation, she spoke calmly. "I believe you are redirecting the issue. We are here to make a case regarding the rights of my people."

The premiere shook his head, then faced the admiral. "You knocked up your president and have been using the complaints of your people, as well as this whole Cyborg circus to cover up the joke of leadership that you two have pulled off. How long have you been letting her sham of a presidency-"

Bill cut off Tiberius again, this time with his fist. Using a quick right hook, Bill's fist connected with the premiere's jaw, sending him to the floor. "That's my wife you're talking about."

The admiral had expected to be escorted from the room and arrested. What he had not expected were applause. Chairman Pliny stood and walked over to him. "Sir, I have been hoping that someone would do that for a long time."

A few of the other chairmen restrained Octavio. Cottle wandered over to inspect the premiere. "Damn. Looks like the frakker's gonna live. He'll just have one hell of a headache when he wakes up."

One of the few women of the New Plymouth government stood. "We should probably put him, and Octavio out of the room."

Bill used his two-way radio to call some of his marines. They arrived shortly, removing the unconscious premiere and Octavio. The woman turned back to Bill as the marines left. "I'm Chairman Janet Dido. Tiberius doesn't speak for all of us. We've been trying to find proof that he has been abusing his power so that if we need to, we can remove him from office. Anyone you can elect, you can also impeach. Hopefully you didn't do too much damage."

"I didn't intend to knock him out, just to shut him up," Bill remarked, folding his hands in front of him.

Chairman Dido smirked. "I'm only sorry that you beat us to it. There have been times when I've wanted to deck him myself."

"So say we all," Cottle added.

Chairman Pliny smiled. "I like it, 'so say we all.' Somebody write that down. Now I do believe that we still have business to resolve."

Cantrell cleared his throat as everyone sat down again. "We do, but first. I'm going to ask the obvious." He looked over at Laura as she and the others took their seats again. "How long have you known that you were one of the Final Five?"

"I didn't know until we were on Earth. I promise you that when I found out, I planned to leave office. I never intended to deceive anyone, or to hurt anyone. I was only trying to step down quietly," she told them.

Delegate Elizabeth Murray of Geminon spoke. "You mentioned a homing beacon. Does that apply to the Pythia Prophecy?"

"I don't think so, since the Pythia Prophecy only led us to Earth. Earth may have been where the other Four were led, but I was led to find the people who had been on Earth, and to convey the truth of their origins, and our link to it all," Laura answered.

"If your people are trying to ascertain whether or not you're the enemy, from my own observations, you have only been attempting to help," Chairman Pliny remarked.

Laura smiled appreciatively. "Thank you, Chairman Pliny."

"You've brought us to Kobol, Earth, and you've led us here in search of a new home. You've kept your promises and shown your continued dedication to the continued safety and survival of our people. Even now, you're negotiating a better quality of life for us, at the risk of your own life by exposing yourself like you have," Lee commented.

She folded her hands in front of her. "I am the last of the Final Five."

"You did step down upon finding out so that your people wouldn't feel that your judgment was compromised," the Delegate Andrew Riley of Picon stated.

"Since Lee Adama granted the Final Five amnesty, you are safe," Arnold Garrios of Aerylon added.

"There's that, and since we've learned that it was a full-body transplant, we know that you're not to be feared," Lee mentioned.

Laura smirked, feeling slightly facetious. "I wouldn't go that far. For anyone who threatens the Fleet and our people, my airlock policy still stands."

The Quorum chuckled. "We wouldn't have it any other way," Cantrell added.

"Airlocks?" Chairman Pliny inquired.

"Best left for another day, Mr. Chairman," Laura told him.

The chairman smiled. "There are several things I should discuss with you at a later date, Madame Counselor. At present, we must ask your government to leave the room for a moment while we call for a vote on how to proceed."

Laura nodded politely. She, the Quorum, Lee, the admiral, Cottle, and Sorenson left the room. "They seem to like us at least," Lee remarked.

"But they probably wonder who's really in charge," Cottle commented.

"It might be best to hold an election after things settle down. You're probably still more popular than I am," Lee added, looking to Laura.

She smiled at him. "I'm not running again. I'm going to have other responsibilities and frankly, the extra time has been nice."

"I wonder what they'll do with Premiere Black-eye," Cottle stated.

"It was his jaw," Morgana corrected.

He rolled his eyes. "I know that. Black-eye just sounded better than 'Black-jaw.'"

"Hopefully he won't be a problem anymore," Adama added.

Laura smiled at him. "Thank you for sticking up for me. I was getting tired of separating men arguing. You saved me the trouble."

"Glad to be of service," he said with a wink.

Chairman Dido emerged from the room. "If you would all come back please."

The Colonials reentered the room, taking their seats. Chairman Pliny stood, facing Laura. "I'm not completely certain who is truly in charge of your people, but we have come to a decision. The land you have been given for your people will be your own separate country to do with and govern as you like. You obviously have a system and a complex set of issue that you deal with, and you know how to deal with those things better than we can, because they are your people. No one will treat any of you as second-class citizens, Cyborg or not. We look forward to trading with you, and perhaps sharing technology once in a while, a little further down the line."

Laura looked to Lee, as if giving him the authority as president. Lee then spoke to Chairman Pliny. "That is more than we could have asked for, sir. We genuinely thank you. If I may ask, what will be done with Blackwell?"

Chairman Pliny folded his hands in front of him. "He is a situation that my people will deal with on our own terms. He has hidden certain things from us and suppressed our people for his own gains. We will deal with him. Do not worry about that."

"Are we done here then?" Lee inquired politely.

"One more thing," Chairman Pliny began, looking toward Morgana. "Dr. Sorenson, we have voted to reinstate you as Head Doctor if you would like your old job back. You were unfairly dismissed and we see no reason to keep you unemployed."

She smiled at the chairman, but then faced Cottle. "Jack?"

Cottle sighed, but smiled back. "You go. I'll be fine. I managed without you before. Go take your job back."

Taking a deep breath, she faced the chairman, slowly shaking her head. "Floyd, this is truly gracious of you, and in the beginning, that is what I would've wanted. But having spent time with the Colonials, I have come to the conclusion that my place is here. Thank you very much for your offer, but I must decline."

"I wish you the best of luck then," he responded. As the meeting ended, Chairman Pliny walked over to Cottle and Morgana. "Is this truly what you want?"

She nodded. "Yes, Floyd, I believe it is."

He faced Cottle. "Take good care of her."

"I wouldn't dream of doing less," Cottle answered.

Then the chairman placed a hand on Morgana's shoulder before leaving. "I had better be invited to the wedding."

Cottle watched him leave. "Does he always mind your business for you?"

Morgana laughed. "Yes. It's what he does best."

As Bill and Laura reached the lobby on the first floor, they were suddenly swarmed with reporters. "I forgot that they've been listening in to the radio equipment the whole time," Laura stated.

"I'm not planning on staying here much longer," Bill relayed.

She nodded. "That makes two of us."

D'Anna and her group left quickly, heading back to the baseship. Five reporters stuck microphones in front of her. "Madame Counselor, what will our policy be on the Cylons, since you're one of the Final Five?"

"Ma'am, is it true that you were having an affair with the admiral before you married him?"

"How long has your affair with the admiral been going on?"

"When is the baby due?"

"Madame Counselor, did you decide to marry the admiral because you found out that you were one of the Final Five, or because you found out you were pregnant?"

Laura calmly raised a hand, telling them "There will be no further questions at this time."

She and Bill pushed through them, heading to Saul's house. The XO greeted them at the door and ushered them in quickly before any reporters could follow them. "I heard it all on the radio. You're gonna be news for the next decade," he told Laura.

She smiled. "Probably. I'm just glad that their government was willing to listen."

The sound of a baby cooing took Laura's attention away from Saul as Caprica entered the room, holding her baby. "Look Mina, we've got company," she told the infant. "I've got some sandwiches for lunch, over in the kitchen."

"In a minute, thank you," Bill responded.

"I think I'll join Caprica in the kitchen. Wait if you want. I'm starving," Laura told him.

When they entered the kitchen, Caprica let Laura hold the baby as she put a turkey, lettuce, cheese, and tomato sandwich on a plate. Caprica took the baby back as Laura took a seat at the table with the sandwich. "She's growing so fast," Laura remarked.

Caprica sat in the chair across from Laura. "Yes, and she gets heavier every day."

"'Mina' sounds like a good nickname," Laura mentioned.

"Thank you. Maybe she'll want to use the full name when she gets older," Caprica replied.

Laura did not speak again until she had eaten her sandwich. "It's been a long morning. At least we are on our way to having a place that we can truly call home."

"Yes, and from the radio, I hear that you might not be having trouble with the premiere anymore," Caprica added.

The red-haired woman smirked. "I wouldn't count on miracles, but it does sound that way."

"Miracles happen a lot more than you think," Caprica stated.

Laura rested a hand on her abdomen. "I'm well aware of that."

Caprica took a drink of water. "Have you thought of a name yet?"

"No, I've been too busy," Laura answered.

The blonde woman placed her baby in an infant seat that had been in the chair next to her and stood. She walked over to the window sill to bring a vase over that Laura had not noticed. In the vase were three long green stems, each ending in a white cup-like shape. "These are a form of what the people here call 'lilies.' They have so many new flowers here, and different names for them."

"They're beautiful. How did you get them?" Laura inquired.

Caprica smiled. "Saul bought them for me. In the Terran town I guess there's a flower shop."

"Yes, I remember," Laura stated.

As she and Caprica talked more about the planet's flowers, Bill and Saul discussed the changes in the situations. "I'm glad that we're at least in good standing with their government," Bill told his old friend.

Saul smirked. "Yeah, and I heard you punched out that moron of a premiere."

Bill shrugged. "Accidents happen."

They both laughed heartily. "'Accident' my ass. That frakker got what he deserved."

"True. I was surprised though by how relieved his own government seemed," Bill commented.

"The next few months are probably going to be interesting for both sides," Saul added.

"I think for the next few months Laura and I are going to try to stay away from the news and take a vacation," Bill told him.

"Sounds like a good idea," Saul responded.

"What are you going to do about Caprica?" Bill probed.

Saul sighed as he sat on the couch, looking toward the kitchen. "I think I'm gonna marry her. I've been making excuses, but the truth is that I owe it to her, and to our daughter."

Bill smiled. "Good move. Now let's go in and get some lunch." The two men headed for the kitchen, finding already-made sandwiches.

Later as Bill and Laura walked back to their house, they linked arms. He looked over to her as they moved. "I'm thinking that you and I should go on a vacation for a while, now that things have been resolved."

Her brow furrowed. "Bill, things have been decided, but there is so much in the settlement that still needs taking care of. We're still picking names for it. I hate picking names."

"You're thinking too hard. It'll come to you. Just give it time," he told her, knowing instinctively that she was referring more to her unborn baby than to the settlement.

"Perhaps." They entered their home and sat on the couch. "Where did you want to go for this vacation you've alluded to?"

"_Galactica_, of course. I still need to decide what to do with the Old Girl," he replied.

"I suppose it's a good place to go to hide from the fallout of the fleet discovering that I'm one of the Final Five. I have a feeling that they won't dismiss it so easily. I wouldn't put it past people to be angry with me," she relayed as she placed her hands on her knees.

He rested a hand on top of hers. "No matter what happens, we'll face it together. It would be too much to expect things to go easy, but I believe that our people will eventually come to an understanding. You might have to face the fact, however, that you'll always be somewhat of a celebrity."

She chuckled softly, leaning against him. "I hate to tell you this, but you're a celebrity too, being the admiral who defended my honor over the radio for all to hear."

"And I'd do it again," he said before kissing her cheek. "I've been meaning to ask you, what would you have said to that question about why you married me?"

She grinned. "Bill Adama, you should already know that one. I said 'yes' because I love you, with every fiber of my being."

They packed quickly and sneaked up to _Galactica_ just after sunset. After a quiet dinner and some reading, they squeezed into his rack. "I remember when this was easier," he grumbled.

Laura giggled as turned toward the outer half of the bed with him to her back. "You're just cranky because you're squished between me and the wall, and neither one of us can give you any more room," she teased.

_Laura found herself in CIC. The room was empty though, with the exception of the red-haired girl. The little girl was playing with the ships on the table. However, as Laura moved closer, she saw that the ship the girl currently held did not look Colonial. The girl took the ship and sat down on the floor, in the middle of twelve balls. She flew the ship around the balls. Then she pushed a button somewhere on the ship and what looked like dozens of teeth shot out from it, hitting the balls. Laura picked one of them up and saw that it was a miniature escape pod. She could discern three tiny numbers painted on the pod: nine, zero, and eight._

"_There were survivors. There were nine hundred, eight survivors," Laura said aloud._

(A/N: I don't know the names of everyone in the Quorum, so I invented some of them. My thanks to The Breeze, Whas'up, McGonagallFan, carolann, and Mythtern13 for reviewing :D)


	24. Trouble on the horizon

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 24: Trouble on the horizon

Laura squirmed, waking from the dream. Bill groaned, sitting up to find the light switch. "We need a bigger bed. One of us is going to wake up on the floor eventually."

"Sorry Bill," she stated, sitting up to face him.

"It's fine. So what's up? Are you too hot? Do you need to use the head?" he inquired.

She shook her head. "I had another dream."

He moved past her while she sat on the end of the bed. Then he grabbed his bathrobe. "Something tells me that I'm going to want coffee before I hear this. You want tea again?"

"Yes, thank you," she replied, rising to find her white bathrobe.

Once they were sitting on the couch with their mugs in hand, they resumed the conversation. "The red-haired girl was in CIC this time, playing with your model ships," Laura began.

"Without a fleet to command, that's probably all they'll be good for," he grumbled.

"It'll be fine, you'll just need time to adjust," she reassured him, placing her free hand over his. "Anyway, she took a ship from the table that didn't look Colonial, and brought it over to a spot on the floor where she sat down, surrounded by twelve balls. Then she pushed a button on the ship and what appeared to be escape pods shot out of it, hitting the balls. I picked one up and the number on it was nine, zero, eight."

He raised an eyebrow. "That's definitely one I haven't heard before. No caves this time."

"Bill, be serious," she told him, frowning slightly. "It means that there were nine hundred, eight survivors."

Sighing, he took another gulp of his coffee. "So you think that the humans that created Cylon technology might have had survivors?"

She nodded emphatically. "Exactly."

"I don't know. Don't you think we'd have heard something by now? I don't recall hearing about a sub-group from another civilization within the fleet," Bill pointed out.

Draining her coffee mug, she set it on the coffee table. "Maybe there were survivors, but they didn't survive the Attacks."

He shook his head. "That's not the point. If they survived at all, why didn't they warn people?"

She shrugged. "Perhaps they felt that it would be better to keep quiet. If any of them are still in the fleet, there's a good chance that they've stayed quiet so no one will blame them for the Attacks."

"I suppose it's possible," he responded.

"Regardless of whether or not there were survivors, the question we should be asking is why am I dreaming about this anyway? I feel like just when I'm on the edge of understanding, I suddenly get swarmed by more questions," she remarked.

He ran a hand through his hair. "Why don't we get showers and figure this out later?"

She smirked. "Procrastinator."

"On the bright side, you won't have to worry about using too much water, given how few people are still onboard," he mentioned.

After taking showers, they walked down to the galley and cooked algae pancakes for themselves. "You would think that we would've brought food with us."

He shook his head. "Years from now, we're not going to remember how this stuff tasted."

She laughed. "That's a poor excuse for not bringing something that tastes better. The disturbing appearance of green pancakes is forever cemented in my memory. I really don't need to remember the flavor."

Chuckling, he took another bite. "You might have a point."

After breakfast, they made their way to CIC. He looked out at the viewscreen, leaning on the console. She watched him quietly. After hearing him sigh twice, she shook her head and spoke. "What's bothering you?"

"I just don't know what to do with _Galactica_. She's been a good ship, saved us more times than I can count. It doesn't feel right to scrap her," he expressed.

Laura slowly walked over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I think the bigger question you're asking is 'what will Bill Adama do without a ship to command?'"

He faced her with a small smile. "Didn't know I was that transparent."

She smirked. "Only to me."

"You're right. I don't know how to be retired. I've been on a ship more than on a planet for around forty-six years. I know how to look after a fleet. I've never really been good at anything else," he admitted.

Kissing him on the cheek, she grinned. "You really have underestimated your own abilities. I seem to recall a certain model ship that looks spectacular, despite having been rebuilt at least twice."

"That's a hobby, not a career. There isn't enough wood on that planet to make a career out of it," he pointed out.

She rolled her eyes. "You're not making this easy. You're good at boxing, when you're not trying to teach a lesson on blame. Perhaps you could coach boxing."

He turned back to the viewscreen and sighed. "I don't know."

"The end of a career isn't easy for anyone. You think resigning has been easy for me?" she remarked, hooking one of her arms in his.

It was his turn to smirk. "You didn't really resign. They kept you on as a consultant."

"Semantics. I do know of a job though that only you could do." She unlinked her arm from his and sought out his hand. Then she placed his hand on her abdomen as the baby kicked. "Only you can have the job of being a father to our child."

He pulled her close to him for a hug. "I don't know if I'll be any good at that one."

She moved back enough to see his face, her eyes catching his. "I do. You're going to help her take her first steps. You're going to scold her the first time she climbs something taller than she can jump down from, but you'll carry her down anyway. The one and only time she sneaks out, you'll ground her for a month and she'll never do it again for fear of disappointing you. The first time she brings home a boyfriend, you'll give her the third degree because you're her father, and she'll protest, but she'll grow up knowing that you love her very much."

"Have you been dreaming about that too?" he inquired.

Shaking her head, she kissed him softly. "Nope. Some things I just know, and I know that you will be a terrific father."

A month later Bill and Laura received a call from the planet. Saul and Caprica wanted to visit. "What do you think?" Bill asked Laura.

"Tell him to go ahead. Either they have something to say that can't be said over the radio, or something else important has come up," she reasoned. He agreed and told Saul that they would meet them at the docking bay.

An hour later Bill and Laura stood on the deck as the Raptor's door opened. "Permission to come aboard?" the familiar voice asked.

"Permission granted," Bill responded. As his XO stepped off, he smiled. "It's good to see you, Saul."

"You too, Bill," Saul replied.

Laura greeted Caprica and the baby, then the group made their way to Saul's quarters to drop off their duffle bags and the baby's things. "I suppose you both are curious as to what we're doing here," Caprica began.

"I was going to let you get settled in before I asked," Laura mentioned.

Caprica smiled over at Saul, who spoke next. "Bill, Caprica and I want you to marry us, here on _Galactica_."

The admiral smiled genuinely at the colonel. "I'd be honored, old friend."

"When were you planning on doing this?" Laura inquired.

"After lunch," Caprica answered as Mina began to make noises. She reached over to the bag in search of a bottle.

"I should update you on a few things before we do the ceremony anyway," Saul stated.

They cooked algae patties for lunch and resumed the conversation, with Laura and Caprica sitting on Bill's couch with little Mina while the men took two chairs. "So how are things on the surface?" Laura inquired.

"The broadcasts caused a hell of a stir. It's a good thing you two left when you did. The people want to split into two groups: those who are willing to work with Cylons, and those who want only pure humans," Saul relayed.

"Why do they have to keep making things difficult? We're going to need each other for survival," Bill grumbled.

Laura sighed. "It was naïve of us to think that everything would be solved if the Quorum still looked up to me."

After hearing updates on fleet supplies and construction status for the buildings, they group headed to the Observation Deck. Then Bill began the ceremony with Saul and Caprica standing in front of him while Laura sat in one of the blue seats, holding Mina. Saul placed the ring on Caprica's finger, both of them having opted out of the hand-fasting portion of the ceremony.

"Do you, Colonel Saul Tigh, take this woman to be your wife, through joy and trials, harvest and famine, prosperity and poverty, health and illness, for as long as life allows?" Bill asked, recalling the words of his own wedding.

"I do," Saul answered.

"Good," Bill responded. Then he turned to the blonde woman. "Do you, Caprica, take this man to be your husband, through joy and trials, harvest and famine, prosperity and poverty, health and illness, for as long as life allows?"

"I do," she said confidently.

"May you look to the future as you care for each other, and your child. May you both prosper. You may now kiss the bride," Bill ended.

Saul and Caprica Tigh kissed. Then Caprica walked over to Laura and picked Mina up. "Thank you for watching her."

Laura glanced at Bill before speaking again. "You know, we could watch her for the night if you'd like. You two probably haven't had a night alone for a while, plus I need the practice."

Caprica considered the offer for a moment, then smiled back. "Thank you. That's very kind of you. Are you sure you won't mind?"

"I'd be happy to look after her," Laura replied.

"Then it's settled. We'll bring her by in about an hour," Caprica said, heading toward the door with Saul.

Bill and Laura followed them out before both couples headed toward their own quarters. He grabbed a few blankets and set them on the couch, planning to give Laura and Mina the bed. As he rearranged the cushions, Laura sank down into the desk chair, resting her head in her hands. He glanced at her. "You okay?"

She shook her head. "The people are dividing and it's my fault. I'm supposed to be the one uniting them!"

He walked over to her and placed a hand on her back. "It would've happened sooner or later. We knew the alliance between our people and the Cylons was fragile."

"You're right. Orders or no orders, we can't expect enemies to simply shake hands and be friends. There has got to be a better way. Somehow I've missed something," she suggested.

Bill considered his next words carefully. "Maybe it's time that you let someone else try to fix this. Maybe it's time you stepped down."

"No. I have to be the one to fix this," she argued.

"You said the dream changed. Maybe you've done everything that you're supposed to do," he persuaded.

She was about to answer when they heard a knock at the hatch. Laura opened it to find Caprica holding the baby. "Her bag is on my shoulder," Caprica commented, handing the baby to Laura. Then she set the bag down on the floor. "Thank you so much for doing this."

"It's really no problem. Like I said, I could use the practice," Laura remarked.

"You'll definitely get practice. She doesn't sleep all night yet. She likes late night feedings. Her bottles are in the bag, and so are her diapers," Caprica mentioned.

"Thank you. I believe I can handle it from here," Laura stated.

As soon as Caprica left and the door was shut, the baby began to squirm in Laura's arms. Bill watched as she sat down on the couch with the baby. "You do realize that we're probably in over our heads with this idea."

"It's only for one night, Bill. How bad could it be?" Laura inquired.

Baby Mina not only needed to be fed twice during the night, she also wanted a diaper change. As Laura rested in the rack after changing Mina, Bill walked over to her, handing her a glass of water. "Thank you," she responded. Then she locked eyes with him. "Go ahead and say it."

He smirked. "Now why would a do a thing like that?

She rolled her eyes. "Because I know you want to."

"I told you so," he said, returning to the couch.

Caprica and Saul arrived early the next morning to retrieve their daughter. "I hope she behaved herself," Caprica commented, holding the baby as Saul took the bag with the baby's supplies.

"Oh, she was no trouble at all," Laura stated with a smile. Bill snorted, as if to contradict her, causing all of them to laugh.

He and Laura returned to the planet with Saul, Caprica, and the baby, deciding to see what could be done to help their people. Bill and Laura had hardly been in their house ten minutes when someone knocked at the door. "I'll get it," Bill told her, heading toward the door.

She sank into the couch. "Tell whoever it is that I'll deal with it later. We just got home."

Turning the knob, he opened the door to find a man of average height with black hair and a thick black beard, wearing a standard Colonial shirt with what appeared to be what the Terrans called 'jeans.' "Can I help you?"

"Forgive the intrusion, Admiral. I need to speak with the president," the man replied.

"She's not the president anymore," Bill mentioned.

The man would not be deterred. "She's the president the subject matter that I need to discuss with her."

"Fine. Come in," Bill acquiesced.

The two men walked over to Laura, who was still seated on the couch. "Madame President, I'm sorry to intrude. I'm Thomas Farrows. I know you haven't heard of me. I've been on the _Geminon Traveler_."

She shook his hand. "Mr. Farrows, as the admiral has mentioned, I'm no longer president."

"The people will always see you as president. But I didn't come here to discuss politics. Are you aware of the split between humans and Cylon supporters?" he asked.

"Yes. I am not sure what should be done about it though," she admitted.

"I've come to see you because I have an idea. What if we had a debate between the two sides? There would, of course, be a moderator. Both sides could express their opinions, and maybe come to a compromise," he proposed.

Laura considered the suggestion, folding her hands in her lap. "It's an interesting idea. Do you mind if I ask what stake you have in this?"

"I only want people to see how tied together we all are," Farrows answered.

She turned her gaze to Bill. "I think it's a reasonable suggestion. It would let people feel like their feelings matter and that citizens have some importance."

Then she faced Farrows again. "Would you like to be the one to organize the debate, Mr. Farrows?"

"That would be fine," he replied.

As he left, Laura looked back to Bill. "He wasn't telling us everything."

Bill put a hand on her shoulder. "That's why I'll be looking into every detail of his background that I can fine. He has to have a reason for just showing up at our door."

(A/N; I'm so sorry this took such a long time to post. I've been rather busy. My thanks to carolann, Whas'up, and McGonagallFan for reviewing :D)


	25. The right choice

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Chapter 25: The right choice

The background searches that Bill wanted for Thomas Farrows only showed that he had been on the _Geminon Traveler_ for the entire trip, and that he boarded the ship from Geminon. The admiral sent a few of his marines to trail Farrows' movements for a few days to find out what sorts of people he had contact with.

Laura had spent the day looking through applications for teachers. Two weeks had passed since they had returned from _Galactica_. A total of five schools had been built so far and they all wanted Laura to help them select teachers. As she approached the house, she watched a marine had something to Bill and then leave. She entered the front door, leaving her bag and the folder containing the applications on an end table.

"Bill, what's going on?" she inquired, watching him rise from the couch.

He set a manila folder on the couch and walked over to her, embracing her. "It's nothing to worry about. How was your day?"

She smirked. "You're evading the question, but I'll humor you for now. I was busy looking over teacher applications. They got a lot more volunteers than they planned on."

"Are you volunteering?" he asked.

Kissing him softly, she shook her head. "Priority number one is going to be the baby. There is a chance though that they might be looking for a principal. I won't be needed as 'Madame Counselor' much longer."

"The only flaw in that plan will be that certain people still see you as our leader," he pointed out.

She raised an eyebrow. "You mean our other leader. I think 'Madame Principal' has a nice ring to it."

He chuckled and let her go. "Could be."

"Now that we've covered my day," she began, wandering over to the couch, "perhaps you could tell me what you've been up to."

She handed him the manila folder. He opened it to show her the observation accounts. "All we learned from the background check on Thomas Farrows was that he boarded the _Geminon Traveler_ from Geminon. I've had marines following Farrows, to see where he goes and who he spends his time with."

They sat on the couch. "So what has he been up to?"

"He meets with a group of at least eighty people, and they're from several different ships. Most of them are in their thirties and forties. They seem to be a pretty close-knit group. The marines couldn't get close without being notices. The only thing they seem to have in common is a lack of presence on the background check. It's like they didn't have records until the Attacks."

Laura took a deep breath. "Do you think they could be some sort of Cylon infiltration trick? I know they're supposed to be our allies now, but this looks suspicious."

Bill ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know what to think."

"Have you tried medical records?" she questioned.

He blinked. "No, but that sounds like a good suggestion. Are you up to joining me?"

She smirked again. "I'm pregnant, not ill. Of course I'm coming with you."

The Colonial clinic had been upgraded to a Colonial hospital as construction on the east wing continued. Cottle and Morgana had found that the most common injuries lately were construction-related as the Colonial citizens were taking what jobs they could find.

Despite the brief conversation with Chairman Pliny, Cottle had yet to actually propose to Morgana. While Laura and Bill made their way to the hospital, Cottle was in the middle of his third attempt to ask her. He had tried the night before at dinner, but a fire at one of the residential buildings had interrupted them. They had spent the night taking care of burn injuries. Fortunately there were no fatalities. He had tried a second time when they had a moment's peace at breakfast, but she had dozed off.

They had just finished setting a man's broken leg. "Why don't we break for tea?"

"Best idea I've heard all day," he responded.

Soon they were seated in the desk chairs that he had brought down from _Galactica_. "I've always preferred afternoon tea," Morgana mentioned.

He took a sip. "I thought you liked your tea with gin," he teased.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I was in a bad mood that day."

"How about today?" he inquired.

Morgana shrugged. "I'm tired, that's all." She watched as he took a deep breath, his focus shifting to the ground. "You seem a bit distracted though."

He faced her, smiling. "I've been trying to say this since last night, but I can't seem to find a good time."

"Then just say it now," she persuaded.

Setting his teacup on his desk, the reached for her free hand. "Morgana, I never in my life expected to find anyone willing to put up with me. You proved me wrong about several things."

"You're not the only person who may be difficult to put up with," she pointed out.

He grinned. "True. I like working with you. I was thrilled when you chose to stay with my people instead of going to your own. What I'm trying to say is –"

A knock on his office door interrupted him. "Oh for crying out loud, can't the universe leave me alone?" Cottle grumbled. He dropped Morgana's hand and stood to answer it. "Come in."

A young nurse spoke. "The admiral and former president want to speak with you."

He and Morgana left the office to see Bill and Laura. "What's wrong this time? I told you to take it easy," he scolded Laura.

She put a hand up. "Relax, Jack. We are not here for me. I'm fine, the baby's fine."

Cottle turned toward Morgana. "Take her blood pressure anyway."

Morgana nodded. "He's only looking out for you," she whispered to Laura.

Bill spoke. "We need you to find some medical records on a man named Thomas Farrows. I've tried other ways of trailing him, but we haven't found much."

Cottle sighed. "Follow me. I'll see what I can do."

As Cottle approached a file cabinet, Bill asked "Did we interrupt something?"

The old doctor slowly faced him. "You and everybody else. I've only been trying to propose to Morgana since last night, but the universe seems to have other plans. First there was the fire, then we were both too tired to talk, and then you and Laura show up."

Bill placed a hand on the drawer. "If this is where the files are, I can look for Farrows myself. You don't have to help me."

"They're medical records. Legally I do, but thanks anyway," Cottle responded. After a moment, he pulled out a file. "Everything looks normal. Healthy, age 32, nothing out of the ordinary. What are you looking for?"

"Try finding where he was born, what colony he came from," Bill stated.

Cottle thumbed through the file. "Hmm, that's strange. It doesn't say where he was born. In fact, the earliest thing on here is a broken leg when he was twelve. He doesn't even have the normal immunization record, only the one from secondary school."

Bill walked over to Laura, passing the information onto her. "It's as if he didn't exist until age twelve."

"It could be a Cylon trick," Bill mentioned.

Laura thought to herself. Then she shook her head, finding Morgana. "The last transmission you received occurred about twenty years ago, correct?"

Morgana nodded. "Yes. But what does that have to do with this?"

"I'm not exactly sure yet. If, hypothetically, there were children on that ship, and if they people onboard used escape pods when their ship was overtaken, then might it be possible for that man not to have standard records?" Laura surmised.

"It is possible. I admit that I had not considered the possibility of survivors myself," Morgana answered.

"It's worth looking into," Laura responded.

Bill glanced down at his watch. "We should be heading back. We've taken up enough of your time."

Laura raised an eyebrow, but followed Bill out of the hospital. When they reached the street, she faced him. "What was that all about?"

"Jack's been trying to find time to propose. We interrupted him," Bill told her with a grin.

She smiled back. "I should've realized."

At the hospital, Cottle finished his now cold tea. Morgana followed him. "They certainly left in a hurry."

Cottle shrugged. "Those two have always been busy."

"So have we. I suppose we had better prepare for the late shift," Morgana remarked.

He set the teacup down on his desk and reached for her hand. "Not so fast. I have something I've been trying to ask you since yesterday."

"Alright. You have my full attention," she responded.

Taking a deep breath, he managed to lower himself on one knee. "I'm not one for flowery speeches, so I'm just going to say it. Morgana, I love you. Will you marry me?"

She grinned at him. "I was wondering if you would ever get around to that."

He chuckled as she helped him stand. "Is that a yes?"

Morgana nodded. "And so is this," she said before kissing him passionately. It was not long before he heard another knock at his office door, but this time he let the other person wait a while before he answered the door.

Their wedding was held three weeks later, in a field near where Bill and Laura's wedding had been conducted. Half of the guests were Colonial while the other half were Terran. The priest was Terran as well. Bill and Laura sat in the audience, watching as Chairman Pliny walked Morgana down the aisle, over to Cottle. "Similar to ours, yet different. I wonder what sort of vows they have," Laura commented.

"They might have written their own. Your dress was better," Bill whispered. Morgana's dress was white, but the top of the long sleeves puffed out by the shoulders.

"It's only a different style, and you're biased," she teased, kissing him on the cheek.

The priest looked out to the audience and spoke. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony…," he began.

After his introduction, he turned to Cottle. "Do you, Major Jack Cottle, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love, comfort, and honor her, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, as long as you both shall live?"

Cottle held Morgana's hands in his. "I do."

"And do you, Morgana Christine Sorenson, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband, to love, comfort, and honor him, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, as long as you both shall live?" the priest continued.

She smiled brightly. "I do."

The priest looked from one to the other. "Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride." He paused while they kissed. "I now present to you Mr. and Mrs. Jack Cottle."

Arms linked, they walked down the aisle as the Terrans threw rice. Then Morgana threw her bouquet of red roses behind her. The flowers landed in little Hera's lap and the people around her laughed. Bill and Laura decided not to stick around for the reception, as she was feeling tired. "I'm sorry about not wanting to play party guest," she told Bill.

"I'm sure they won't mind. They would probably yell at you to go home anyway," he mentioned.

She smirked. "You're probably right."

When they reached their house, Bill noticed the rice in Laura's hair. "I wonder why the Terrans threw rice."

"We'll have to ask them later," Laura replied as she closed the front door.

She took a seat on the couch. Bill sat next to her and then she felt his hand in her hair. "What are you doing? If you wanted to play with my hair, you should've just said so," she goaded him.

He snorted. "Very funny. I'm actually trying to get the rice out of your hair so you don't have a big mess later," he answered, placing bits of rice on a napkin on the coffee table. "This might take a while."

Turning to face him for a moment, she smirked. "You should know, Admiral, that I'm not the only one with rice in my hair. You look like you could use some help yourself." She reached up to follow through on the idea, but then a better idea came to mind and she found herself kissing him instead.

The debate was scheduled for the following week. Two hours before it began, Laura paced the living room of her house. "I don't think that's going to help either side," Bill mentioned.

Laura sighed, not slowing down. "I know, but I can't sit still. What if it goes the wrong way? What if we end up with a civil war? What if we –"

Bill cut her off with a kiss. "Everything's going to be fine. We have five Cylon supporters against five non-supporters. Farrows is on the supporting side, along with Caprica."

"So Saul is babysitting?" Laura inquired.

"Yep. Now we've got two hours. Why don't you rest?" Bill suggested.

She raised an eyebrow. "Bill Adama, I am in absolutely no mood to rest!"

Leaving him in the living room, she headed to the kitchen for a glass of water. She finished off the glass just before a sharp pain began in her abdomen. It dissipated after a moment. She had been feeling pain on and off all morning. _I thought drinking water was supposed to help that. I should go back to pacing. I felt better when I was pacing_, she reasoned.

By the time they left for the debate, the pain was more persistent, but Laura surmised that it had to do with her lack of activity over several weeks. The debate was held on the first floor of one of the school buildings. Eventually it would be used as a lecture hall for large groups, or for student performances. The room included several seats and a stage. Both debating factions were onstage, seated in front of tables. Lee was acting as moderator.

"Let me first tell you the rules of this debate. No side with insult the other side or make derogatory comments. This is a philosophical debate and no one will resort to name calling. There will be no physical violence. We will flip a coin to see which side goes first. After the first remark, the other side will have time to formulate a response. After the debate, there will be a recess to discuss of something needs to change. Let's begin," Lee explained.

The coin toss went to the Cylon supporters. Caprica spoke first. "We only want to coexist peacefully, to live normal lives and work together for survival."

A man on the opposing side rose. "Peaceful? Haven't we been here before? Didn't you try to 'peacefully coexist' on New Caprica?"

"New Caprica is one of my greatest regrets. I will admit that the Cylons took over, still wanting domination after a fashion instead of cooperation," Caprica responded.

"So you're saying things will be different this time?" the man probed.

"Yes. We want to work together, under the same government, as one people," she expressed.

Another man on the opposing side, a man Laura recognized as one of Zarek's former associates, stood. "Your people are the reason we're here in the first place! Your people nuked the Colonies."

"And I am truly sorry for that as well. There is no excuse for the decimation caused by Cylons, but if you recall, humans did build the Cylons," she argued.

"So you're blaming the humans because you were programmed to kill us? Boy, that's rich. I'll bet the Cylons even killed the humans who built them," the man said snidely.

Another woman on the pro-Cylon cooperation stood. "This isn't about blame. What we need to do is learn to work and live together."

"They have to answer of the past," a woman on the other side retorted.

"No."

The others looked around to notice Farrows, who slowly stood. "This is not about the past. What have we learned from our experiences? Collaborators from New Caprica were granted amnesty. The Final Five were granted amnesty. You can keep looking back, but you'll only find more hatred and more blame. It has to stop somewhere."

"Can you guarantee that they won't try and nuke us again?" Zarek's former associate argued.

Farrows took a deep breath. "We have the ability right here, right now, to end this. Our survival on this new planet depends on cooperation. We have to look toward the future for the sake of our children. What legacy will they be getting from us, one of war, or one of forgiveness and peace? It's about the choices you make today. The Cylons with us now chose to join our side in the conflict, to be limited to one life, like us. We can chose to either accept that they have made a choice to do what's right, or we can fight them. What do you want for your children?"

Laura did not hear further arguments because a sharp pain in her abdomen distracted her. As she grabbed Bill's arm tightly, he faced her. "Why did you insist on coming to this if you knew you were in labor?" he asked her, irritation in his eyes.

"I didn't realize it at the time. We need to – Bill I think my water just broke," she whispered.

"Let's go," he instructed.

Bill helped her stand and they left as quietly as they could. Fortunately the hospital was only a short walk away. Laura staggered through the door with the help of Bill, they were stopped by Ishay. "What's going on here?"

"What's it look like?" Laura retorted.

"She's in labor," Bill responded.

Ishay nodded. "I'll find Dr. Cottle. You two sit for now."

Bill helped Laura into a chair before sitting next to her. "We had to pick a busy day," Laura grumbled.

"I'm sure once he knows it's us, he'll be right out, or Morgana will be," Bill reassured her.

Cottle appeared a moment later, heading toward them. "I can see your water broke. Mind telling me why the hell you waited 'till the last minute to drop by?"

"She wanted to see the debate," Bill answered.

"You're lucky that despite being one of my most difficult patients, I hate to see you suffer. Someone get me a gurney," Cottle requested.

Soon Laura had been moved from the gurney to the bed, the nurses helping her into a hospital gown. "Where is Morgana?" Laura asked.

"Back surgery. Some guy fell from a scaffold," Cottle replied.

Bill sat next to the bed and held Laura's hand. Two hours later they welcomed a girl into the world, as was predicted. Laura held the baby in her arms as she moved scooted over slightly to let Bill sit on the bed next to them. "She's perfect," Laura said quietly, handing the baby to him.

"She's beautiful," Bill added.

The baby made soft gurgling sounds as Bill handed her back to her mother. The he leaned down to kiss Laura softly. She smiled back. "I hope Jack won't stay mad at us."

Bill smirked. "He wasn't mad, just frustrated. We do tend to drop in on him unannounced for all sorts of things."

"Yes, we do," Laura replied, looking down at the baby.

"She's going to need a name, you know," Bill reminded.

Laura nodded. "I've been thinking, one of the flowers that Caprica showed me had a lovely name, 'lily.' I think I'd like to call our daughter 'Lily.'"

"'Lily.' I like that too. For a middle name, how about 'Anastasia?'" Bill suggested.

"Hmm, 'Lily Anastasia Adama.' I like it," Laura responded.

They looked over by the door to the room, hearing someone clear her throat. Morgana smiled. "I don't mean to interrupt, but you have visitors."

"Then by all means, please send them in," the former president recommended.

Caprica entered, followed by Saul, Lee, and Kara. "Well who do we have here?" Caprica inquired. Wilhelmina had been left with Athena for a while.

"Meet Lily Anastasia Adama," Laura told them with a grin.

"She's adorable," Dee remarked. "And I like the name."

"You're gonna have to beat the boys off with a stick when she's older," Kara commented.

Saul stepped over to pat Bill on the back. "Something tells me neither one of you are gonna let her anywhere near a Viper."

Laura chuckled softly. "Hopefully we won't need to."

"Congratulations," Lee stated. "I also came by to tell you how the debate went. Farrows' speech really got peoples' attention. They decided that humans and Cylons would work together to build a better future."

"That's good to know. I did catch most of his speech," Laura mentioned.

"Farrows also told me that he was from a group of 114 people who survived from the Earth fleet. They kept quiet when they had to abandon the ship after it was boarded because they thought no one would believe their story. Then when the Cylons attacked, they were afraid that they would be blamed for everything," Lee relayed.

"I hope you told him that we're not blaming people these days. What's done is done," Bill told his son.

Laura smiled at her extended family, and then at Bill. "Yes, and finally we can look toward the future."

(A/N: There will be an epilogue. My thanks to carolann for reviewing :D)


	26. Epilogue

Disclaimer: Battlestar Galactica belongs to Ronald D. Moore and the Sci-Fi channel.

Epilogue

It was Commemoration Day in the settlement of New Kobol, a day to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Colonials' arrival on Terra Prime. Bill and Laura were hosting a barbeque with their family and friends. Lily Adama and Mina Tigh volunteered to be the welcoming committee. Both age nine and in the same grade, they talked about their up-coming class field trip.

"Isn't it gonna be weird with your dad giving the tour?" Mina asked, playing with her two blonde braids.

Lily shook her head, her auburn hair flying loosely in the breeze. "Nobody's better at telling stories about when everybody was in space than my dad."

Mina frowned. "Nu-uh, my dad tells stories better."

"Nope, my dad's better because he teaches modern history for high school," Lily objected.

"Girls, I can hear you from the kitchen. Be nice or nobody's going on the tour to see _Galactica_," Laura called out, working with Caprica to make dinner. Instead of being dismantled for parts like most of the fleet, _Galactica_, as well as _Colonial One_ had been grounded and turned into museums so that the people would always remember the journey that brought them to their new home.

Lily turned toward the kitchen. "Sorry, Mom."

"Sorry, Aunt Laura," Mina added.

The girls went back to watching the window quietly, but silence can only last so long. "Hey Lily, what's scarier, being sent to your room by your mom, or being sent to the principal's office when the principal is your mom?" Mina whispered, smirking.

Lily rolled her eyes. "That's not funny. I hope she didn't hear you."

Mina giggled. "You're my best friend. I won't get you in trouble."

"This time," Lily added.

Hearing a knock at the door, they moved to answer it. Kara and Sam had arrived with their six-year-old son Zack. He had inherited his father's brown hair and his mother's attitude. "Ma, I got fans," he said, looking at Mina and Lily.

Kara ruffled her son's hair. "Very funny. They're probably here to greet everyone."

The next to arrive were Lee, Dee, and their two children, eight-year-old Joey and four-year-old Tamara. Having inherited Dee's features, they also had matching blue eyes. Hera arrived shortly after with Athena and Helo. Not long after Lily's birth they had forgiven Laura and had been joining the Adamas for Commemoration Day over the last four years.

All six children planted themselves by the front door to wait for the last guests. Tamara pressed her nose against the front window. "I see them!" she exclaimed after a few minutes.

Cottle and Morgana arrived, bringing the dessert, as they had in years past. Morgana had used an old family recipe and made peach cobbler. "It's always interesting to see who greets us," she told her husband with a smirk.

He snorted. "They're just lucky I'm in a good mood."

She giggled. "Yes, heaven forbid they find out that you actually like children."

Bill and Saul had been in the backyard barbequing the Terran foods of hotdogs for the children and Colonial steaks for the adults. Soon everyone was seated around the picnic table outside as Bill brought the steak platter to the table. Laura stood, lightly tapping her glass of sparkling apple cider with her fork. It had been Caprica's suggestion to keep the drinks non-alcoholic 'in case the children get too curious.'

All eyes turned to Laura. Bill smiled at her, knowing that a speech was coming. Not even time could remove that presidential trait from her. "Friends and family, we gather once again to celebrate our arrival here. I just want to say how blessed I am to have met so many good people. We've all come a long way in our separate journeys. We've also come a long way across the universe. Our beginnings were rough, and our alliances were shaky at best. We are here today because it's not enough to simply survive. Through friendship, camaraderie, and love," she paused to meet Bill's gaze, "we are living. We've proven that what truly makes us people is a set of common goals and a need to preserve our society above vengeance and mistrust. A toast, to family, friends, and many more Commemoration Days."

Everyone lifted their glasses with hers, the children lifting plastic cups. Laura suddenly felt a pair of hands on her hips. "So say we all," Bill said from behind her.

Setting her glass down, she turned to face him with a warm smile. "So say we all." Then she kissed him soundly, ignorning the groans of some guests and the whistles of others.

"You two have been married nearly ten years and you're still at the mushy stage," Cottle teased.

Morgana rolled her eyes. "Oh shut up. So are you," she responded, kissing Jack.

Bill and Laura laughed, adding "So say we all," just before the children collectively said "Ew."

Fin………………………………..

(My thanks to McGonagallFan and carolann for reviewing :D)


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